17. There is hope for your future,says the Lord,that your children will come back to their own border.
18. I have surely heard Ephraim pleading:“You have chastised me,and I was chastised, as an untrained calf;turn me back and I will be turned,for you are the Lord my God.
19. Surely after I turned back,I repented;and after I was instructed,I struck myself on my thigh;I was ashamed and even humiliatedbecause I bore the reproach of my youth.”
20. Is Ephraim My dear son?Is he a pleasant child?For since I spoke against him,I surely do remember him still;therefore My heart longs for him.I will surely have mercy on him,says the Lord.