‘We have heard a voice of trembling,
Of ^[a]fear, and not of peace.
⁶ Ask now, and see,
Whether a ^[b]man is ever in ^[c]labor with child?
So why do I see every man with his hands on his loins
^(C)Like a woman in labor,
And all faces turned pale?
^7 (D)Alas! For that day is great,
^(E)So that none is like it;
And it is the time of Jacob’s trouble,
But he shall be saved out of it.

⁸ ‘For it shall come to pass in that day,’
Says the Lord of hosts,
‘That I will break his yoke from your neck,
And will burst your bonds;
Foreigners shall no more enslave them.
⁹ But they shall serve the Lord their God,
And ^(F)David their king,
Whom I will ^(G)raise up for them.

¹⁰ ‘Therefore ^(H)do not fear, O My servant Jacob,’ says the Lord,
‘Nor be dismayed, O Israel;
For behold, I will save you from afar,
And your seed ^(I)from the land of their captivity.
Jacob shall return, have rest and be quiet,
And no one shall make him afraid.
¹¹ For I am with ^(J)you,’ says the Lord, ‘to save you;
^(K)Though I make a full end of all nations where I have scattered you,
^(L)Yet I will not make a complete end of you.
But I will correct you ^(M)in justice,
And will not let you go altogether unpunished.’

^(N)‘Your affliction is incurable,
Your wound is severe.
¹³ There is no one to plead your cause,
That you may be bound up;
^(O)You have no healing medicines.
^14 (P)All your lovers have forgotten you;
They do not seek you;
For I have wounded you with the wound ^(Q)of an enemy,
With the chastisement ^(R)of a cruel one,
For the multitude of your iniquities,
^(S)Because your sins have increased.
¹⁵ Why ^(T)do you cry about your affliction?
Your sorrow is incurable.
Because of the multitude of your iniquities,
Because your sins have increased,
I have done these things to you.

¹⁶ ‘Therefore all those who devour you ^(U)shall be devoured;
And all your adversaries, every one of them, shall go into ^(V)captivity;
Those who plunder you shall become ^(W)plunder,
And all who prey upon you I will make a ^(X)prey.
^17 (Y)For I will restore health to you
And heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord,
‘Because they called you an outcast saying:
“This is Zion;
No one seeks her.” ’

‘Behold, I will bring back the captivity of Jacob’s tents,
And ^(Z)have mercy on his dwelling places;
The city shall be built upon its own ^[d]mound,
And the palace shall remain according to its own plan.
¹⁹ Then ^(AA)out of them shall proceed thanksgiving
And the voice of those who make merry;
^(AB)I will multiply them, and they shall not diminish;
I will also glorify them, and they shall not be small.
²⁰ Their children also shall be ^(AC)as before,
And their congregation shall be established before Me;
And I will punish all who oppress them.
²¹ Their nobles shall be from among them,
^(AD)And their governor shall come from their midst;
Then I will ^(AE)cause him to draw near,
And he shall approach Me;
For who is this who pledged his heart to approach Me?’ says the Lord.
²² ‘You shall be ^(AF)My people,
And I will be your God.’ ”

²³ Behold, the ^(AG)whirlwind of the Lord
Goes forth with fury,
A ^[e]continuing whirlwind;
It will fall violently on the head of the wicked.
²⁴ The fierce anger of the Lord will not return until He has done it,
And until He has performed the intents of His heart.

^(AH)In the latter days you will consider it.

“The people who survived the sword
Found grace in the wilderness—
Israel, when ^(AK)I went to give him rest.”

³ The Lord has appeared ^[f]of old to me, saying:
“Yes, ^(AL)I have loved you with ^(AM)an everlasting love;
Therefore with lovingkindness I have ^(AN)drawn you.
⁴ Again ^(AO)I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt,
O virgin of Israel!
You shall again be adorned with your ^(AP)tambourines,
And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice.
^5 (AQ)You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria;
The planters shall plant and ^[g]eat them as ordinary food.
⁶ For there shall be a day
When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim,
^(AR)‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
To the Lord our God.’ ”

^(AS)“Sing with gladness for Jacob,
And shout among the chief of the nations;
Proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘O Lord, save Your people,
The remnant of Israel!’
⁸ Behold, I will bring them ^(AT)from the north country,
And ^(AU)gather them from the ends of the earth,
Among them the blind and the lame,
The woman with child
And the one who labors with child, together;
A great throng shall return there.
^9 (AV)They shall come with weeping,
And with supplications I will lead them.
I will cause them to walk ^(AW)by the rivers of waters,
In a straight way in which they shall not stumble;
For I am a Father to Israel,
And Ephraim is My ^(AX)firstborn.

¹⁰ “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
And declare it in the ^[h]isles afar off, and say,
‘He who scattered Israel ^(AY)will gather him,
And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’
¹¹ For ^(AZ)the Lord has redeemed Jacob,
And ransomed him ^(BA)from the hand of one stronger than he.
¹² Therefore they shall come and sing in ^(BB)the height of Zion,
Streaming to ^(BC)the goodness of the Lord—
For wheat and new wine and oil,
For the young of the flock and the herd;
Their souls shall be like a ^(BD)well-watered garden,
^(BE)And they shall sorrow no 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 to joy,
Will comfort them,
And make them rejoice rather than sorrow.
¹⁴ I will ^[i]satiate the soul of the priests with abundance,
And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”

^(BF)“A voice was heard in ^(BG)Ramah,
Lamentation and bitter ^(BH)weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children,
Refusing to be comforted for her children,
Because ^(BI)they are no more.”

“Refrain your voice from ^(BJ)weeping,
And your eyes from tears;
For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord,
And they shall come back from the land of the enemy.
¹⁷ There is ^(BK)hope in your future, says the Lord,
That your children shall come back to their own border.

¹⁸ “I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself:
‘You have ^(BL)chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained bull;
^(BM)Restore me, and I will return,
For You are the Lord my God.
¹⁹ Surely, ^(BN)after my turning, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;
I was ^(BO)ashamed, yes, even humiliated,
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
²⁰ Is Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a pleasant child?
For though I spoke against him,
I earnestly remember him still;
^(BP)Therefore My ^[j]heart yearns for him;
^(BQ)I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.

²¹ “Set up signposts,
Make landmarks;
^(BR)Set your heart toward the highway,
The way in which you went.
^[k]Turn back, O virgin of Israel,
Turn back to these your cities.
²² How long will you ^(BS)gad about,
O you ^(BT)backsliding daughter?
For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth—
A woman shall encompass a man.”

⁴ “I will make mention of ^[a]Rahab and Babylon to those who know Me;
Behold, O Philistia and Tyre, with Ethiopia:
‘This one was born there.’ ”

⁵ And of Zion it will be said,
“This one and that one were born in her;
And the Most High Himself shall establish her.”
⁶ The Lord will record,
When He ^(C)registers the peoples:
“This one was born there.” Selah

⁷ Both the singers and the players on instruments say,
“All my springs are in you.”

^18 (A)A man who bears false witness against his neighbor
Is like a club, a sword, and a sharp arrow.

¹⁹ Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble
Is like a bad tooth and a foot out of joint.