7 For thus says the Lord: “Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘O Lord, save your people,the remnant of Israel.’
8 Behold, I will bring them from the north countryand gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,among them the blind and the lame,the pregnant woman and she who is in labor, together;a great company, they shall return here.
9 With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,I will make them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble,for I am a father to Israel,and Ephraim is my firstborn.
10 “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,and declare it in the coastlands far away;say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him,and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.’
11 For the Lord has ransomed Jacoband has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil,and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more.
13 Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy;I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.