¹⁴ But Zion said, “The Lord has forsaken me,
And the Lord has forgotten me.”
¹⁵ “Can a woman forget her nursing child
And have no compassion on the son of her womb?
Even these may forget, but ^(A)I will not forget you.
¹⁶ “Behold, I have ^(B)inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your ^(C)walls are continually before Me.
¹⁷ “Your ^[a]builders hurry;
Your ^(D)destroyers and devastators
Will depart from you.
¹⁸ “^(E)Lift up your eyes and look around;
^(F)All of them gather together, ^(G)they come to you.
^(H)As I live,” declares the Lord,
“You will surely ^(I)put on all of them as ^[b]jewels and bind them on as a bride.
¹⁹ “For ^(J)your waste and desolate places and your destroyed land—
Surely now you will be ^(K)too cramped for the inhabitants,
And those who ^(L)swallowed you will be far away.
²⁰ “The ^(M)children of ^[c]whom you were bereaved will yet say in your ears,
‘The place is too cramped for me;
Make room for me that I may live here.’
²¹ “Then you will ^(N)say in your heart,
‘Who has begotten these for me,
Since I have been bereaved of my children
And am ^(O)barren, an ^(P)exile and a wanderer?
And who has reared these?
Behold, I was ^(Q)left alone;
^[d](R)From where did these come?’”

“Where is the ^(A)certificate of divorce
By which I have ^(B)sent your mother away?
Or to whom of My creditors did I ^(C)sell you?
Behold, you were sold for your ^(D)iniquities,
And for your ^(E)transgressions your mother ^(F)was sent away.
² “Why was there ^(G)no man when I came?
When I called, why was there none to answer?
Is My ^(H)hand so short that it cannot ransom?
Or have I no power to deliver?
Behold, I ^(I)dry up the sea with My rebuke,
I ^(J)make the rivers a wilderness;
Their fish stink for lack of water
And die of thirst.

⁴ It will no longer be said to you, “^[a](A)Forsaken,”
Nor to your land will it any longer be said, “^[b]Desolate”;
But you will be called, “^[c]My delight is in her,”
And your land, “^[d](B)Married”;
For the ^(C)Lord delights in you,
And to Him your land will be married.