1 Naquele tempo, diz o Senhor, serei o Deus de todas as tribos de Israel, e elas serão o meu povo. 2 Assim diz o Senhor: O povo que se livrou da espada logrou graça no deserto. Eu irei e darei descanso a Israel. 3 De longe se me deixou ver o Senhor, dizendo: Com amor eterno eu te amei; por isso, com benignidade te atraí. 4 Ainda te edificarei, e serás edificada, ó virgem de Israel! Ainda serás adornada com os teus adufes e sairás com o coro dos que dançam. 5 Ainda plantarás vinhas nos montes de Samaria; plantarão os plantadores e gozarão dos frutos. 6 Porque haverá um dia em que gritarão os atalaias na região montanhosa de Efraim: Levantai-vos, e subamos a Sião, ao Senhor, nosso Deus!

7 Porque assim diz o Senhor: Cantai com alegria a Jacó, exultai por causa da cabeça das nações; proclamai, cantai louvores e dizei: Salva, Senhor, o teu povo, o restante de Israel. 8 Eis que os trarei da terra do Norte e os congregarei das extremidades da terra; e, entre eles, também os cegos e aleijados, as mulheres grávidas e as de parto; em grande congregação, voltarão para aqui. 9 Virão com choro, e com súplicas os levarei; guiá-los-ei aos ribeiros de águas, por caminho reto em que não tropeçarão; porque sou pai para Israel, e Efraim é o meu primogênito.

10 Ouvi a palavra do Senhor, ó nações, e anunciai nas terras longínquas do mar, e dizei: Aquele que espalhou a Israel o congregará e o guardará, como o pastor, ao seu rebanho. 11 Porque o Senhor redimiu a Jacó e o livrou da mão do que era mais forte do que ele. 12 Hão de vir e exultar na altura de Sião, radiantes de alegria por causa dos bens do Senhor, do cereal, do vinho, do azeite, dos cordeiros e dos bezerros; a sua alma será como um jardim regado, e nunca mais desfalecerão.

13 Então, a virgem se alegrará na dança, e também os jovens e os velhos; tornarei o seu pranto em júbilo e os consolarei; transformarei em regozijo a sua tristeza. 14 Saciarei de gordura a alma dos sacerdotes, e o meu povo se fartará com a minha bondade, diz o Senhor.

15 Assim diz o Senhor: Ouviu-se um clamor em Ramá, pranto e grande lamento; era Raquel chorando por seus filhos e inconsolável por causa deles, porque já não existem. 16 Assim diz o Senhor: Reprime a tua voz de choro e as lágrimas de teus olhos; porque há recompensa para as tuas obras, diz o Senhor, pois os teus filhos voltarão da terra do inimigo. 17 Há esperança para o teu futuro, diz o Senhor, porque teus filhos voltarão para os seus territórios.

18 Bem ouvi que Efraim se queixava, dizendo: Castigaste-me, e fui castigado como novilho ainda não domado; converte-me, e serei convertido, porque tu és o Senhor, meu Deus. 19 Na verdade, depois que me converti, arrependi-me; depois que fui instruído, bati no peito; fiquei envergonhado, confuso, porque levei o opróbrio da minha mocidade. 20 Não é Efraim meu precioso filho, filho das minhas delícias? Pois tantas vezes quantas falo contra ele, tantas vezes ternamente me lembro dele; comove-se por ele o meu coração, deveras me compadecerei dele, diz o Senhor. 21 Põe-te marcos, finca postes que te guiem, presta atenção na vereda, no caminho por onde passaste; regressa, ó virgem de Israel, regressa às tuas cidades. 22 Até quando andarás errante, ó filha rebelde? Porque o Senhor criou coisa nova na terra: a mulher infiel virá a requestar um homem.

23 Assim diz o Senhor dos Exércitos, o Deus de Israel: Ainda dirão esta palavra na terra de Judá e nas suas cidades, quando eu lhe restaurar a sorte: O Senhor te abençoe, ó morada de justiça, ó santo monte! 24 Nela, habitarão Judá e todas as suas cidades juntamente, como também os lavradores e os que pastoreiam os rebanhos. 25 Porque satisfiz à alma cansada, e saciei a toda alma desfalecida.

26 Nisto, despertei e olhei; e o meu sono fora doce para mim.

27 Eis que vêm dias, diz o Senhor, em que semearei a casa de Israel e a casa de Judá com a semente de homens e de animais. 28 Como velei sobre eles, para arrancar, para derribar, para subverter, para destruir e para afligir, assim velarei sobre eles para edificar e para plantar, diz o Senhor. 29 Naqueles dias, já não dirão: Os pais comeram uvas verdes, e os dentes dos filhos é que se embotaram. 30 Cada um, porém, será morto pela sua iniquidade; de todo homem que comer uvas verdes os dentes se embotarão.

31 Eis aí vêm dias, diz o Senhor, em que firmarei nova aliança com a casa de Israel e com a casa de Judá. 32 Não conforme a aliança que fiz com seus pais, no dia em que os tomei pela mão, para os tirar da terra do Egito; porquanto eles anularam a minha aliança, não obstante eu os haver desposado, diz o Senhor. 33 Porque esta é a aliança que firmarei com a casa de Israel, depois daqueles dias, diz o Senhor: Na mente, lhes imprimirei as minhas leis, também no coração lhas inscreverei; eu serei o seu Deus, e eles serão o meu povo. 34 Não ensinará jamais cada um ao seu próximo, nem cada um ao seu irmão, dizendo: Conhece ao Senhor, porque todos me conhecerão, desde o menor até ao maior deles, diz o Senhor. Pois perdoarei as suas iniquidades e dos seus pecados jamais me lembrarei.

35 Assim diz o Senhor, que dá o sol para a luz do dia e as leis fixas à lua e às estrelas para a luz da noite, que agita o mar e faz bramir as suas ondas; Senhor dos Exércitos é o seu nome. 36 Se falharem estas leis fixas diante de mim, diz o Senhor, deixará também a descendência de Israel de ser uma nação diante de mim para sempre. 37 Assim diz o Senhor: Se puderem ser medidos os céus lá em cima e sondados os fundamentos da terra cá embaixo, também eu rejeitarei toda a descendência de Israel, por tudo quanto fizeram, diz o Senhor.

38 Eis que vêm dias, diz o Senhor, em que esta cidade será reedificada para o Senhor, desde a Torre de Hananel até à Porta da Esquina. 39 O cordel de medir estender-se-á para diante, até ao outeiro de Garebe, e virar-se-á para Goa. 40 Todo o vale dos cadáveres e da cinza e todos os campos até ao ribeiro Cedrom, até à esquina da Porta dos Cavalos para o oriente, serão consagrados ao Senhor. Esta Jerusalém jamais será desarraigada ou destruída.

1 At that time, saith Jehovah, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people. 2 Thus saith Jehovah, The people that were left of the sword found favor in the wilderness; even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest. 3 Jehovah appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. 4 Again will I build thee, and thou shalt be built, O virgin of Israel: again shalt thou be adorned with thy tabrets, and shalt go forth in the dances of them that make merry. 5 Again shalt thou plant vineyards upon the mountains of Samaria; the planters shall plant, and shall enjoy the fruit thereof. 6 For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the hills of Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion unto Jehovah our God.

7 For thus saith Jehovah, Sing with gladness for Jacob, and shout for the chief of the nations: publish ye, praise ye, and say, O Jehovah, save thy people, the remnant of Israel. 8 Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the uttermost parts of the earth, and with them the blind and the lame, the woman with child and her that travaileth with child together: a great company shall they return hither. 9 They shall come with weeping; and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way wherein they shall not stumble; for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-born.

10 Hear the word of Jehovah, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off; and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock. 11 For Jehovah hath ransomed Jacob, and redeemed him from the hand of him that was stronger than he. 12 And they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, and shall flow unto the goodness of Jehovah, to the grain, and to the new wine, and to the oil, and to the young of the flock and of the herd: and their soul shall be as a watered garden; and they shall not sorrow any 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 into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow. 14 And I will satiate the soul of the priests with fatness, and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, saith Jehovah.

15 Thus saith Jehovah: A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children; she refuseth to be comforted for her children, because they are not. 16 Thus saith Jehovah: Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith Jehovah; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. 17 And there is hope for thy latter end, saith Jehovah; and thy children shall come again to their own border. 18 I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus, Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a calf unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art Jehovah my God. 19 Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. 20 Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a darling child? for as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my heart yearneth for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith Jehovah.

21 Set thee up waymarks, make thee guide-posts; set thy heart toward the highway, even the way by which thou wentest: turn again, O virgin of Israel, turn again to these thy cities. 22 How long wilt thou go hither and thither, O thou backsliding daughter? for Jehovah hath created a new thing in the earth: a woman shall encompass a man.

23 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, Yet again shall they use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity: Jehovah bless thee, O habitation of righteousness, O mountain of holiness. 24 And Judah and all the cities thereof shall dwell therein together, the husbandmen, and they that go about with flocks. 25 For I have satiated the weary soul, and every sorrowful soul have I replenished. 26 Upon this I awaked, and beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.

27 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. 28 And it shall come to pass that, like 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. 29 In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge. 30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

31 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith Jehovah. 33 But 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 in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, 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 forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.

35 Thus saith Jehovah, who giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for a light by night, who stirreth up the sea, so that the waves thereof roar; Jehovah of hosts is his name: 36 If these ordinances depart from before me, saith Jehovah, then the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever. 37 Thus saith Jehovah: If heaven above can be measured, and the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, then will I also cast off all the seed of Israel for all that they have done, saith Jehovah.

38 Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that the city shall be built to Jehovah from the tower of Hananel unto the gate of the corner. 39 And the measuring line shall go out further straight onward unto the hill Gareb, and shall turn about unto Goah. 40 And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields unto the brook Kidron, unto the corner of the horse gate toward the east, shall be holy unto Jehovah; it shall not be plucked up, nor thrown down any more for ever.

1 "At that time," declares the LORD, "I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people."

2 This is what the LORD says: "The people who survive the sword will find favor in the wilderness; I will come to give rest to Israel."

3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, "saying: "I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.

4 I will build you up again, and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt. Again you will take up your timbrels and go out to dance with the joyful.

5 Again you will plant vineyards on the hills of Samaria; the farmers will plant them and enjoy their fruit.

6 There will be a day when watchmen cry out on the hills of Ephraim, 'Come, let us go up to Zion, to the LORD our God.'"

7 This is what the LORD says: "Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations. Make your praises heard, and say, 'LORD, save your people, the remnant of Israel.'

8 See, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the ends of the earth. Among them will be the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor; a great throng will return.

9 They will come with weeping; they will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water on a level path where they will not stumble, because I am Israel's father, and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

10 "Hear the word of the LORD, you nations; proclaim it in distant coastlands: 'He who scattered Israel will gather them and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.'

11 For the LORD will deliver Jacob and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they.

12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will rejoice in the bounty of the LORD — the grain, the new wine and the olive oil, the young of the flocks and herds. They will be like a well-watered garden, and they will sorrow no more.

13 Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and old as well. I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.

14 I will satisfy the priests with abundance, and my people will be filled with my bounty," declares the LORD.

15 This is what the LORD says: "A voice is heard in Ramah, mourning and great weeping, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."

16 This is what the LORD says: "Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded," declares the LORD. "They will return from the land of the enemy.

17 So there is hope for your descendants," declares the LORD. "Your children will return to their own land.

18 "I have surely heard Ephraim's moaning: 'You disciplined me like an unruly calf, and I have been disciplined. Restore me, and I will return, because you are the LORD my God.

19 After I strayed, I repented; after I came to understand, I beat my breast. I was ashamed and humiliated because I bore the disgrace of my youth.'

20 Is not Ephraim my dear son, the child in whom I delight? Though I often speak against him, I still remember him. Therefore my heart yearns for him; I have great compassion for him," declares the LORD.

21 "Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take. Return, Virgin Israel, return to your towns.

22 How long will you wander, unfaithful Daughter Israel? The LORD will create a new thing on earth — the woman will return to "the man."

23 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "When I bring them back from captivity, "the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: 'The LORD bless you, you prosperous city, you sacred mountain.'

24 People will live together in Judah and all its towns —farmers and those who move about with their flocks.

25 I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint."

26 At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.

27 "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals.

28 Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant," declares the LORD.

29 "In those days people will no longer say, 'The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.'

30 Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes —their own teeth will be set on edge.

31 "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.

32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to "them, "" declares the LORD.

33 "This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.

34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

35 This is what the LORD says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar — the LORD Almighty is his name:

36 "Only if these decrees vanish from my sight," declares the LORD, "will Israel ever cease being a nation before me."

37 This is what the LORD says: "Only if the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth below be searched out will I reject all the descendants of Israel because of all they have done," declares the LORD.

38 "The days are coming," declares the LORD, "when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate.

39 The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah.

40 The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the LORD. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished."