Jeremiah

Return of the Israelites to Their Land

The Lord declares that when that time comes, he will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be his people.

Thus says the Lord: The survivors of the sword have found grace in the desert. As Israel was seeking his rest,

the Lord appeared from afar saying: I have loved you with everlasting love, so I have kept for you my mercy.

I will restore you again, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin Israel! You will grab your tambourines and go out dancing happily.

You will plant vineyards again on the hills of Samaria, and the farmers who plant them will enjoy their harvest.’

There shall be a day when watchmen will call out on the hills of Ephraim: “Come, let us go to Zion, to the Lord our God!”

For the Lord says this: “Shout with joy for Jacob; rejoice for the greatest of nations. Proclaim your praise and say: ‘The Lord has saved his people, the remnant of Israel!’

Look, I will bring them back from the land of the north, gather them from the ends of the earth, the lame and the blind, mothers and women in labor —a great throng will return.

They went away weeping, they will return in joy. I will lead them by the streams of water on a level path so that no one will stumble, for I am Israel’s father and Ephraim is my firstborn.”

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, proclaim it in distant coastlands: He who scattered Israel will gather them and guard them as a shepherd guards his flock.

For the Lord has ransomed Jacob and redeemed him from the hand of his conqueror.

They shall come shouting for joy while ascending Zion; they will come streaming to the Lord’s blessings— the grain, the new wine, and the oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden; no more will they be afflicted.

Maidens will make merry and dance, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness, I will give them comfort and joy for sorrow.

I will fill the priests with abundance, and satisfy my people with my bounty —this is the Lord’s word.

Thus speaks the Lord: “In Ramah, a voice of mourning and great weeping is heard, Rachel wailing for her children and refusing to be consoled, for her children are no more.”

The Lord says this to her: “Weep no more and wipe the tears of your eyes; your sorrow will have redress. They will come back from the enemy’s land.

There is hope for your descendants; your children will return to their own borders.

I heard Ephraim saying in grief: ‘You disciplined me like an untamed calf, and I have been disciplined. Bring me back, and I will return, for you are the Lord, my God!

Yes, I strayed, but I have repented. Now I understand, and I beat my breast; I bear the disgrace of my youth, and I blush with shame and humiliation.’

Is not Ephraim my favored son, the child in whom I delight? Often have I threatened him, but I still remember him, and my heart yearns for him. I must show him mercy,” declares the Lord.

Set up road signs, put up guideposts; focus your attention on the highway, the road by which you went. Return, O virgin Israel, return to these cities of yours.

How long will you remain wandering, O, unfaithful daughter? For the Lord is creating something new on earth; the woman finds her husband again.”

These are words of the Lord, God of Hosts and God of Israel: “When I bring back the captives to the land of Judah and its towns, the people will once more use the expression: ‘The Lord bless you, O dwelling of righteousness, holy mountain!’

All Judah and its towns, the farmer and those who move about with their herds will live there in peace.

I will refresh the weary and lift up the downhearted.”

Then I awoke and looked around; my sleep had been peaceful.

“The days are coming —this is the word of the Lord— when I shall sow the people of Israel and the people of Judah with the seed of man and beasts.

It will happen that just as I watched over them to uproot and overthrow, to destroy and bring disaster, so shall I likewise build and plant —word of the Lord.

It will no longer be said: ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.’

Instead, everyone will die because of their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes will have his teeth set on edge!

The time is coming —it is the Lord who speaks— when I will forge a new Covenant with the people of Israel and Judah.

It will not be like the one I made With their ancestors when I took them by the hand and led them out of Egypt. For they broke my Covenant although I was their Master, the Lord declares.

This is the Covenant I shall make With Israel after that time: I will inscribe my law in their hearts; I will be their God, and they will be my people.

And they will not have to teach each other, neighbor or brother, saying: ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the greatest to the loneliest, for I will forgive their wrongdoing and no longer remember their sin.

This is the word of the Lord, he who gives the sun light during the day and orders the moon and the stars to give light at night, he who stirs the sea and makes the waves roar, and who is called the Lord, God of Hosts:

“Only if these laws vanish from my sight —says the Lord— will the descendants of Israel cease to be a nation before me.

Only when the skies above are measured and the foundations of the earth are found below will I reject the descendants of Israel because of what they have done —word of the Lord.

Behold, the days are coming when the city will be rebuilt for the Lord from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate

and the measuring tape will stretch from there to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah.

The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown and all the fields as far as the brook of Kidron and the corner of the Horse Gate on the east will be holy to the Lord. Never again will the city be uprooted, never again destroyed.”