1“በዚያ ዘመን” ይላል እግዚአብሔር፤ “ለእስራኤል ነገድ ሁሉ አምላካቸው እሆናለሁ፤ እነርሱም ሕዝቤ ይሆናሉ።”
2እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ይላል፤
“ከሰይፍ የተረፈው ሕዝብ፣
በምድረ በዳ ሞገስን ያገኛል፤
እኔም ለእስራኤል ዕረፍት ለመስጠት እመጣለሁ።”
3እግዚአብሔር ከሩቅ31፥3 ወይም እግዚአብሔር ከጥንት ወይም ከቀድሞ ተገለጠልን ተገለጠልን፤ እንዲህም አለን፤
“በዘላለማዊ ፍቅር ወድጄሻለሁ፤
ስለዚህም በርኅራኄ ሳብሁሽ።
4የእስራኤል ድንግል ሆይ፤ እንደ ገና ዐንጽሻለሁ፤
አንቺም ትታነጺአለሽ፤
ከበሮችሽንም እንደ ገና አንሥተሽ፣
ከሚፈነጥዙት ጋር ትፈነድቂአለሽ።
5እንደ ገናም በሰማርያ ኰረብቶች ላይ፣
ወይን ትተክያለሽ፤
አትክልተኞች ይተክሏቸዋል፤
በፍሬውም ደስ ይላቸዋል።
6ጠባቂዎች፣ በኤፍሬም ኰረብቶች ላይ፣
‘ኑ፤ ወደ ጽዮን፣
ወደ አምላካችን ወደ እግዚአብሔር እንውጣ!’
ብለው የሚጮኹበት ቀን ይመጣል።”
7እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ይላል፤
“ስለ ያዕቆብ በደስታ ዘምሩ፤
ስለ ሕዝቦች አለቃ እልል በሉ፤
ምስጋናችሁን አሰሙ፤
‘እግዚአብሔር ሆይ፤ የእስራኤልን ቅሬታ፣
ሕዝብህን አድን’ በሉ።
8እነሆ፤ ከሰሜን ምድር አመጣቸዋለሁ፤
ከምድርም ዳርቻ እሰበስባቸዋለሁ፤
በመካከላቸውም ዕውሮችና ዐንካሶች፣
ነፍሰ ጡርና በምጥ ላይ ያሉ ሴቶች ይገኛሉ፤
ታላቅም ሕዝብ ሆነው ይመለሳሉ።
9እያለቀሱ ይመጣሉ፤
እያጽናናሁ አመጣቸዋለሁ፤
እኔ ለእስራኤል አባት ነኝና፣
ኤፍሬም በኵር ልጄ ነውና፣
በውሃ ምንጭ ዳር፣
በማይሰናከሉበት ቀና መንገድ እመራቸዋለሁ።
10“ሕዝቦች ሆይ፤ የእግዚአብሔርን ቃል ስሙ፤
ሩቅ ባሉ የባሕር ጠረፎችም፣
‘እስራኤልን የበተነ እርሱ ይሰበስበዋል፤
መንጋውንም እንደ እረኛ ይጠብቃል’ ብላችሁ ዐውጁ።
11እግዚአብሔር ያዕቆብን ይዋጀዋልና፤
ከእርሱም ከሚበረቱት እጅ ይታደገዋልና።
12መጥተውም በጽዮን ተራራ ላይ በደስታ ይዘምራሉ፤
በእግዚአብሔርም ልግስና፣
በእህሉ፣ በወይን ጭማቂውና በዘይቱ፣
በፍየልና በበግ ጠቦት፣ በወይፈንና በጊደር ደስ ይሰኛሉ፤
ውሃ እንደማይቋረጥባት የአትክልት ስፍራ ይሆናሉ፤
ከእንግዲህም አያዝኑም።
13ኰረዶች ይዘፍናሉ፤ ደስም ይላቸዋል፤
ጐረምሶችና ሽማግሌዎችም ይፈነጥዛሉ፤
ልቅሷቸውን ወደ ደስታ እለውጣለሁ፤
ከሐዘናቸውም አጽናናቸዋለሁ፤ ደስታንም እሰጣቸዋለሁ።
14ካህናቱን አትረፍርፌ እባርካለሁ፤
ሕዝቤም በልግስናዬ ይጠግባል፤”
ይላል እግዚአብሔር።
15እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ይላል፤
“ዋይታና መራራ ልቅሶ
ከራማ ተሰማ፤
ልጆቿ የሉምና፣
ራሔል አለቀሰች፤
መጽናናትም እንቢ አለች።”
16እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ይላል፤
“ድምፅሽን ከልቅሶ፣
ዐይኖችሽንም ከእንባ ከልክይ፤
ድካምሽ ያለ ዋጋ አይቀርምና፤”
ይላል እግዚአብሔር።
“ከጠላት ምድር ይመለሳሉ፤
17ስለዚህ ወደ ፊት ተስፋ አለሽ”
ይላል እግዚአብሔር።
“ልጆችሽ ወደ ገዛ ምድራቸው ይመለሳሉ።
18“የኤፍሬምን የሲቃ እንጕርጕሮ በርግጥ ሰምቻለሁ፤
‘እንዳልተገራ ወይፈን ቀጣኸኝ፤
እኔም ተቀጣሁ።
አንተ እግዚአብሔር አምላኬ ነህና፣
መልሰኝ፤ እኔም እመለሳለሁ።
19ከአንተ ከራቅሁ በኋላ፣
ተመልሼ ተጸጸትሁ፤
ባስተዋልሁም ጊዜ፣
ጭኔን መታሁ፤
የወጣትነት ውርደቴን ተሸክሜአለሁና
ዐፈርሁ፤ ቀለልሁም።’
20ኤፍሬም የምወድደው፣
ደስም የምሰኝበት ልጄ አይደለምን?
ብዙ ጊዜ ተቃውሜው ብናገርም፣
መልሼ ስለ እርሱ ዐስባለሁ፤
አንጀቴ ይላወሳል፤
በታላቅ ርኅራኄም እራራለታለሁ፤”
ይላል እግዚአብሔር።
21“የጐዳና ምልክት አቁሚ፤
መንገድ አመልካች ትከዪ፤
የምትሄጂበትን መንገድ፣
አውራ ጐዳናውን አስተውዪ፤
ድንግሊቱ እስራኤል ሆይ፤ ተመለሺ፤
ወደ ከተሞችሽም ግቢ።
22አንቺ ከዳተኛ ልጅ ሆይ፤
እስከ መቼ ትቅበዘበዣለሽ?
እግዚአብሔር በምድር ላይ አዲስ ነገር ይፈጥራል፤
ሴት በወንድ ላይ ከበባ ታደርጋለች።31፥22 ወይም መፈለግ ትጀምራለች ወይም መጠበቅ ትጀምራለች”
23የእስራኤል አምላክ የሰራዊት ጌታ እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ይላል፤ “ምርኳቸውን በመለስሁላቸው ጊዜ፣31፥23 ወይም ዕድል ፈንታቸውን በመለስሁላቸው እነርሱ በይሁዳ ምድርና በከተሞቿ፣ ‘አንተ የጽድቅ ማደሪያ ቅዱስ ተራራ ሆይ፤ እግዚአብሔር ይባርክህ!’ የሚል አነጋገር እንደ ገና ይጠቀማሉ። 24ገበሬዎችና ዘላን ከብት አርቢዎች በይሁዳና በከተሞቿ በአንድነት ይኖራሉ። 25የዛለችውን ነፍስ ዐድሳለሁ፤ የደከመችውንም አበረታለሁ።”
26በዚህ ጊዜ ከእንቅልፌ ነቅቼ ዙሪያዬን ተመለከትሁ፤ እንቅልፌም ጣፋጭ ሆኖልኝ ነበር።
27“እነሆ፤ የእስራኤልን ቤትና የይሁዳን ቤት” ይላል እግዚአብሔር፤ “በሰውና በእንስሳት ዘር የምሞላበት ጊዜ ይመጣል፤ 28ልነቅላቸውና ላፈርሳቸው፣ ልገለብጣቸውና ላጠፋቸው፣ መከራም ላመጣባቸው እንደ ተጋሁ ሁሉ፣ ላንጻቸውና ልተክላቸው ደግሞ እተጋለሁ” ይላል እግዚአብሔር። 29“በዚያ ዘመን ሰዎች ዳግመኛ፣
“ ‘አባቶች በበሉት ጐምዛዛ የወይን ፍሬ፣
የልጆች ጥርስ ጠረሰ’
የሚለውን ምሳሌ አይናገሩም። 30ነገር ግን፣ እያንዳንዱ በገዛ ኀጢአቱ ይሞታል፤ ጐምዛዛ የወይን ፍሬ የሚበላ ሁሉ የራሱን ጥርስ ይጠርሳል።
31“ከእስራኤል ቤትና፣
ከይሁዳ ቤት ጋር” ይላል እግዚአብሔር፣
“አዲስ ቃል ኪዳን የምገባበት፣
ጊዜ ይመጣል።
32ከግብፅ አወጣቸው ዘንድ፣
እጃቸውን ይዤ በመራኋቸው ጊዜ፣
ከአባቶቻቸው ጋር እንደገባሁት ኪዳን
አይደለም፤31፥32 የዕብራይስጡ፣ የሰብዓ ሊቃናትና የሱርሰት ትርጕሞች እኔም ዘወር አልሁባቸው ይላሉ።
የእነርሱ ባል31፥32 31፥32 ወይም የእነርሱ ጌታ ሆኜ ሳለሁ፣
ቃል ኪዳኔን አፍርሰዋልና።”
ይላል እግዚአብሔር።
33“ነገር ግን ከዚያ ጊዜ በኋላ፣
ከእስራኤል ቤት ጋር የምገባው ኪዳን ይህ ነው” ይላል እግዚአብሔር፤
“ሕጌን በልቡናቸው አኖራለሁ፤
በልባቸውም እጽፈዋለሁ።
እኔ አምላክ እሆናቸዋለሁ፤
እነርሱም ሕዝቤ ይሆናሉ።
34ከእንግዲህ ማንም ሰው ባልንጀራውን፣
ወይም ወንድሙን፣ ‘እግዚአብሔርን ዕወቅ’ ብሎ አያስተምርም፤
ከትንሹ ጀምሮ እስከ ትልቁ፣
ሁሉም እኔን ያውቁኛልና፤”
ይላል እግዚአብሔር።
“በደላቸውን ይቅር እላለሁ፤
ኀጢአታቸውንም መልሼ አላስብም።”
35በቀን እንድታበራ፣
ፀሓይን የመደበ፣
በሌሊት እንዲያበሩ፣
ጨረቃንና ከዋክብትን ያዘዛቸው፣
የሞገዱ ድምፅ እንዲተምም፣
ባሕሩን የሚያናውጥ፣
ስሙ የሰራዊት ጌታ የሆነ፣
እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ይላል፤
36“ይህ ሥርዐት በፊቴ ከተሻረ፣”
ይላል እግዚአብሔር፤
“በዚያ ጊዜ የእስራኤልም ዘር በፊቴ፣
መንግሥት መሆኑ ለዘላለም ይቀራል።”
37እግዚአብሔር እንዲህ ይላል፤
“በላይ ያሉትን ሰማያትን መለካት፣
በታችም ያሉትን የምድር መሠረቶች መመርመር ከተቻለ፣
በዚያ ጊዜ የእስራኤልን ዘር ሁሉ፣
ስላደረጉት ነገር ሁሉ እጥላቸዋለሁ፤”
ይላል እግዚአብሔር።
38“እነሆ ከሐናንኤል ግንብ ጀምሮ እስከ ማእዘኑ በር ድረስ” ይላል እግዚአብሔር፤ “ይህች ከተማ ለእግዚአብሔር የምትሠራበት ጊዜ ይመጣል፤ 39መለኪያ ገመዱም ከዚያ ጀምሮ በቀጥታ ወደ ጋሬብ ኰረብታ፣ ዐልፎም ወደ ጎዓ ይዘረጋል። 40ሬሳና ዐመድ የሚጣልበት ሸለቆ በሙሉ፣ በምሥራቅ በኩል የቄድሮንን ሸለቆ ይዞ እስከ ፈረስ በር የሚደርሰው ደልዳላ ቦታ ሁሉ ለእግዚአብሔር የተቀደሰ ይሆናል፤ ከእንግዲህም ከተማዪቱ አትነቀልም፤ አትፈርስምም።”
1‘At that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they will be my people.’
2This is what the Lord says:
‘The people who survive the sword
will find favour in the wilderness;
I will come to give rest to Israel.’
3The Lord appeared to us in the past,31:3 Or Lord has appeared to us from afar saying:
‘I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.
4I will build you up again,
and you, Virgin Israel, will be rebuilt.
Again you will take up your tambourines
and go out to dance with the joyful.
5Again you will plant vineyards
on the hills of Samaria;
the farmers will plant them
and enjoy their fruit.
6There will be a day when watchmen cry out
on the hills of Ephraim,
“Come, let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.” ’
7This is what the Lord says:
‘Sing with joy for Jacob;
shout for the foremost of the nations.
Make your praises heard, and say,
“Lord, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.”
8See, I will bring them from the land of the north
and gather them from the ends of the earth.
Among them will be the blind and the lame,
expectant mothers and women in labour;
a great throng will return.
9They will come with weeping;
they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead them beside streams of water
on a level path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,
and Ephraim is my firstborn son.
10‘Hear the word of the Lord, you nations;
proclaim it in distant coastlands:
“He who scattered Israel will gather them
and will watch over his flock like a shepherd.”
11For the Lord will deliver Jacob
and redeem them from the hand of those stronger than they.
12They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion;
they will rejoice in the bounty of the Lord –
the grain, the new wine and the olive oil,
the young of the flocks and herds.
They will be like a well-watered garden,
and they will sorrow no more.
13Then young women will dance and be glad,
young men and old as well.
I will turn their mourning into gladness;
I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.
14I will satisfy the priests with abundance,
and my people will be filled with my bounty,’
declares the Lord.
15This is what the Lord says:
‘A voice is heard in Ramah,
mourning and great weeping,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.’
16This is what the Lord says:
‘Restrain your voice from weeping
and your eyes from tears,
for your work will be rewarded,’
declares the Lord.
‘They will return from the land of the enemy.
17So there is hope for your descendants,’
declares the Lord.
‘Your children will return to their own land.
18‘I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning:
“You disciplined me like an unruly calf,
and I have been disciplined.
Restore me, and I will return,
because you are the Lord my God.
19After I strayed,
I repented;
after I came to understand,
I beat my breast.
I was ashamed and humiliated
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.”
20Is not Ephraim my dear son,
the child in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
I still remember him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
I have great compassion for him,’
declares the Lord.
21‘Set up road signs;
put up guideposts.
Take note of the highway,
the road that you take.
Return, Virgin Israel,
return to your towns.
22How long will you wander,
unfaithful Daughter Israel?
The Lord will create a new thing on earth –
the woman will return to31:22 Or will protect the man.’
23This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘When I bring them back from captivity,31:23 Or I restore their fortunes the people in the land of Judah and in its towns will once again use these words: “The Lord bless you, you prosperous city, you sacred mountain.” 24People will live together in Judah and all its towns – farmers and those who move about with their flocks. 25I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.’
26At this I awoke and looked around. My sleep had been pleasant to me.
27‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will plant the kingdoms of Israel and Judah with the offspring of people and of animals. 28Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, and to overthrow, destroy and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,’ declares the Lord. 29‘In those days people will no longer say,
“The parents have eaten sour grapes,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.”
30Instead, everyone will die for their own sin; whoever eats sour grapes – their own teeth will be set on edge.
31‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord,
‘when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to31:32 Hebrew; Septuagint and Syriac covenant / and I turned away from them,31:32 Or was their master’
declares the Lord.
33‘This is the covenant that I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,’ declares the Lord.
‘I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
34No longer will they teach their neighbour,
or say to one another, “Know the Lord,”
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,’
declares the Lord.
‘For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.’
35This is what the Lord says,
he who appoints the sun
to shine by day,
who decrees the moon and stars
to shine by night,
who stirs up the sea
so that its waves roar –
the Lord Almighty is his name:
36‘Only if these decrees vanish from my sight,’
declares the Lord,
‘will Israel ever cease
being a nation before me.’
37This is what the Lord says:
‘Only if the heavens above can be measured
and the foundations of the earth below be searched out
will I reject all the descendants of Israel
because of all they have done,’
declares the Lord.
38‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when this city will be rebuilt for me from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. 39The measuring line will stretch from there straight to the hill of Gareb and then turn to Goah. 40The whole valley where dead bodies and ashes are thrown, and all the terraces out to the Kidron Valley on the east as far as the corner of the Horse Gate, will be holy to the Lord. The city will never again be uprooted or demolished.’
