SCRIPTURE
Jeremiah 31: 7-14
(Jer 31:7 NRSV) For thus says the LORD: Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob, and raise shouts for the chief of the nations; proclaim, give praise, and say, "Save, O LORD, your people, the remnant of Israel."
(Jer 31:8 NRSV) See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north, and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, among them the blind and the lame, those with child and those in labor, together; a great company, they shall return here.
(Jer 31:9 NRSV) With weeping they shall come, and with consolations I will lead them back, I will let them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble; for I have become a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
(Jer 31:10 NRSV) Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, and declare it in the coastlands far away; say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him, and will keep him as a shepherd a flock."
(Jer 31:11 NRSV) For the LORD has ransomed Jacob, and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
(Jer 31:12 NRSV) They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the LORD, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall become like a watered garden, and they shall never languish again.
(Jer 31:13 NRSV) Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy, I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
(Jer 31:14 NRSV) I will give the priests their fill of fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty, says the LORD.