ters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply ye there, and be not diminished. 7 And seek the peace of the city whither I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray unto the LORD for it; for in the peace thereof shall ye have peace.

Restoration of Israel

30 23 Behold, a storm of the LORD is gone

forth in fury,

A sweeping storm;

It shall whirl upon the head of the wicked. 24 The fierce anger of the LORD shall not re

turn,

Until He have executed, and till He have performed

The purposes of His heart;

In the end of days ye shall consider it.

At that time, saith the LORD,

31 will be the God of all the families of

Israel,

And they shall be My people.

2 Thus saith the LORD:

The people that were left of the sword
Have found grace in the wilderness,

Even Israel, when I go to cause him to rest. 3 'From afar the LORD appeared unto me.' 'Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love;

Therefore with affection have I drawn thee. 4 Again will I build thee, and thou shalt be built,

O virgin of Israel;

Again shalt thou be adorned with thy tabrets, And shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

5 Again shalt thou plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria;

The planters shall plant, and shall have the use thereof.

6 For there shall be a day,

That the watchmen shall call upon the mount Ephraim:

Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion,

Unto the LORD our God.'

7 For thus saith the LORD:

Sing with gladness for Jacob,

And shout at the head of the nations;
Announce ye, praise ye, and say:

'O LORD, save Thy people,

The remnant of Israel.'

8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country,

And gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth,

And with them the blind and the lame,

The woman with child and her that travaileth with child together;

A great company shall they return hither. 9 They shall come with weeping,

And with supplications will I lead them;

I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, In a straight way wherein they shall not stumble;

For I am become a father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My first-born.

10 Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say: 'He that scattered Israel doth gather him, And keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.' 11 For the LORD hath ransomed Jacob,

And He redeemeth him from the hand of him that is stronger than he.

12 And they shall come and sing in the height of Zion,

And shall flow unto the goodness of the
LORD,

To the corn, and to the wine, and to the oil,
And to the young of the flock and of the
herd;

And their soul shall be as a watered garden, And they shall not pine any more at all. 13 Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old together; For I will turn their mourning into joy, And will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.

14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness,

And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness,

Saith the LORD.

15 Thus saith the LORD:

A voice is heard in Ramah,

Lamentation, and bitter weeping,

Rachel weeping for her children;

She refuseth to be comforted for her children,
Because they are not.

16 Thus saith the LORD:

Refrain thy voice from weeping,

And thine eyes from tears;

For thy work shall be rewarded, saith the
LORD;

And they shall come back from the land of
the enemy.

17 And there is hope for thy future, saith the LORD;

And thy children shall return to their own border.

18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself:

"Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised,

As a calf untrained;

Turn thou me, and I shall be turned,

For Thou art the LORD my God.

19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented, And after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh;

I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, Because I did bear the reproach of my youth.'

20 Is Ephraim a darling son unto Me?

Is he a child that is dandled?

For as often as I speak of him,

I do earnestly remember him still;
Therefore My heart yearneth for him,

I will surely have compassion upon him, saith
the LORD.

21 Set thee up waymarks,

Make thee guide-posts;

Set thy heart toward the highway,
Even the way by which thou wentest;
Return, O virgin of Israel,

Return to these thy cities.

22 How long wilt thou turn away coyly,

O thou backsliding daughter?

For the LORD hath created a new thing in the earth:

A woman shall court a man.

23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel:

Yet again shall they use this speech

In the land of Judah and in the cities thereof,

When I shall turn their captivity:

"The LORD bless thee, O habitation of righteousness,

O mountain of holiness.'

24 And Judah and all the cities thereof Shall dwell therein together:

The husbandmen, and they that go forth with flocks.

25 For I have satiated the weary soul,

And every pining soul have I replenished.

26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; And my sleep was sweet unto me.

27 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass, that like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down, and to overthrow and to destroy, and to afflict; so will I watch over them to build and to plant, saith the LORD.

29 In those days they shall say no more;