7 For thus says the Lord:
Shout with joy for Jacob,
Exult at the head of the nation's;
Proclaim your praise and say:
The Lord has saved his people,
The remnant of Israel.
8 Look! I will bring them back
From the land of the north;
I will gather them from the ends of the earth,
The blind and the lame in their midst,
Pregnant women, together with those in labor -
An immense throng- they shall return.
9 With weeping they shall come,
But with compassion I will guide them;
I will lead them to streams of water,
On a level road, without stumbling.
For I am a father to Israel,
Ephraim is my firstborn.
10 Hear the word of the Lord, you nations,
Proclaim it on it on distant coasts, and say:
The One who scattered Israel, now gathers them;
He guards them as a shepherd his flock,
11 The Lord shall ransom Jacob,
He shall redeem him from a hand too strong for him.
12 Shouting, they shall mount the heights of Zion,
They shall come streaming to the Lords blessings:
The grain, the wine, and the oil,
Flocks of sheep and cattle;
They themselves shall be like watered gardens,
Never again neglected.
13 Then young women shall make merry and dance,
Young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will show them compassion and have them rejoice after their sorrows.
14 I will lavish choice portions on the priests,
And my people shall be filled with my blessings -
Oracle of the Lord.
