15Thus says theLord:A voice is heard inRamah,lamentation and bitter weeping.Rachel is weeping for her children;she refuses to be comforted for her children,because they are no more.

16Thus says theLord:Keep your voice from weeping,and your eyes from tears,for there is a reward for your work,declares theLord,andthey shall come back from the land of the enemy.17There is hope for your future,declares theLord,and your children shall come back to their own country.18I have heardEphraim grieving,You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,like an untrained calf;bring me back that I may be restored,for you are theLordmy God.19For afterI had turned away, I relented,and after I was instructed,I struck my thigh;I was ashamed, and I was confounded,because I bore the disgrace of my youth.20Is Ephraim my dear son?Is he my darling child?For as often as I speak against him,I do remember him still.Therefore my heart[a]yearns for him;I will surely have mercy on him,declares theLord.

21Set up road markers for yourself;make yourself guideposts;consider well the highway,the road by which you went.Return, O virgin Israel,return to these your cities.22How long will you waver,O faithless daughter?For theLordhas created a new thing on the earth:a woman encircles a man. Jeremiah 31:15-22 ESV