Mourning Turned to Joy

(Matthew 2:16-18)

1At that time, saith Jehovah, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.

2Thus saith Jehovah: The people [that were] left of the sword have found grace in the wilderness, [even] Israel, when I go to give him rest.

3Jehovah hath appeared from afar unto me, [saying,] Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee.

4I will build thee again, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel! Thou shalt again be adorned with thy tambours, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry.

5Thou shalt again plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall eat the fruit.

6For there shall be a day, when the watchmen upon mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise, and let us go up to Zion, unto Jehovah our God.

7For thus saith Jehovah: Sing aloud [with] gladness for Jacob, and shout at the head of the nations; publish ye, praise ye, and say, Jehovah, save thy people, the remnant of Israel.

8Behold, I bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth; [and] among them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great assemblage shall they return hither.

9They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them; I will cause them to walk by water-brooks, in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble; for I will be a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

10Hear the word of Jehovah, ye nations, and declare [it] to the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd his flock.

11For Jehovah hath ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of one stronger than he.

12And they shall come and sing aloud upon the height of Zion, and shall flow together to the goodness of Jehovah, for corn, and for new wine, and for oil, and for the young of the flock and of the herd; and their soul shall be as a watered garden, and they shall not languish any more at all.

13Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, and the young men and old together; for I will turn their mourning into gladness, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice after their sorrow.

14And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jehovah.

15Thus saith Jehovah: A voice hath been heard in Ramah, the wail of very bitter weeping, -- Rachel weeping for her children, refusing to be comforted for her children, because they are not.

16Thus saith Jehovah: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for there is a reward for thy work, saith Jehovah; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.

17And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jehovah, and thy children shall come again to their own border.

18I have indeed heard Ephraim bemoaning himself [thus]: Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised as a bullock not trained: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art Jehovah my God.

19Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after I knew myself, I smote upon [my] thigh. I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, for I bear the reproach of my youth.

20Is Ephraim a dear son unto me? is he a child of delights? For whilst I have been speaking against him, I do constantly remember him still. Therefore my bowels are troubled for him: I will certainly have mercy upon him, saith Jehovah.

21Set up waymarks, make for thyself signposts; set thy heart toward the highway, the way by which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities.

22How long wilt thou wander about, thou backsliding daughter? For Jehovah hath created a new thing on the earth, a woman shall encompass a man.

23Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: They shall again use this speech, in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall turn their captivity: Jehovah bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, mountain of holiness!

24And therein shall dwell Judah, and all the cities thereof together, the husbandmen, and they that go about with flocks. 25For I have satiated the weary soul, and every languishing soul have I replenished. 26 -- Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.

27Behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah [with] the seed of man and the seed of beast. 28And it shall come to pass, 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 Jehovah.

29In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge:

30for every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

A New Covenant

31Behold, days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 32not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day of my taking them by the hand, to lead them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband unto them, saith Jehovah. 33For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, saith Jehovah: I will put my law in their inward parts, and will write it in their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will pardon their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.

35Thus saith Jehovah, who giveth the sun for light by day, the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for light by night, who stirreth up the sea so that the waves thereof roar, -- Jehovah of hosts is his name:

36If those ordinances depart from before me, saith Jehovah, the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever.

37Thus saith Jehovah: If the heavens above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off the whole seed of Israel, for all that they have done, saith Jehovah.

38Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that the city shall be built to Jehovah, from the tower of Hananeel unto the corner-gate. 39And the measuring line shall yet go forth before it unto the hill Gareb, and shall turn toward Goath. 40And the whole valley of the dead bodies, and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the torrent Kidron, unto the corner of the horse-gate toward the east, shall be holy unto Jehovah: it shall not be plucked up, nor overthrown any more for ever.