8. “Watch what comes next:“I’ll bring my people backfrom the north countryAnd gather them up from the ends of the earth,gather those who’ve gone blindAnd those who are lame and limping,gather pregnant women,Even the mothers whose birth pangs have started,bring them all back, a huge crowd!
9. “Watch them come! They’ll come weeping for joyas I take their hands and lead them,Lead them to fresh flowing brooks,lead them along smooth, uncluttered paths.Yes, it’s because I’m Israel’s Fatherand Ephraim’s my firstborn son!
20. “Oh! Ephraim is my dear, dear son,my child in whom I take pleasure!Every time I mention his name,my heart bursts with longing for him!Everything in me cries out for him.Softly and tenderly I wait for him.” God’s Decree.
25. I’ll refresh tired bodies;I’ll restore tired souls.
26. Just then I woke up and looked around—what a pleasant and satisfying sleep!
29. “When that time comes you won’t hear the old proverb anymore,Parents ate the green apples,their children got the stomachache.
30. “No, each person will pay for his own sin. You eat green apples, you’re the one who gets sick.