Then I will reply, 'I will bring them back from the land of the north. I will gather them in from the distant parts of the earth. Blind and lame people will come with them, so will pregnant women and women about to give birth. A vast throng of people will come back here.

Therefore thus says Yahweh, "If you turn back, then I will take you back. You will stand {before me}. And if you utter [what is] precious and not [what is] worthless, you will be as my mouth. They will turn back to you, and you will not turn back to them.

I for my part will stay at Mizpah to represent you before the Babylonians whenever they come to us. You for your part go ahead and harvest the wine, the dates, the figs, and the olive oil, and store them in jars. Go ahead and settle down in the towns that you have taken over."

So that not one of the rest of Judah, who have gone into the land of Egypt and are living there, will get away or keep his life, to come back to the land of Judah where they are hoping to come back and be living again: for not one will come back, but only those who are able to get away.

{saying}, 'Turn back please, each one from his evil way, and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the land that Yahweh has given to you and to your ancestors from a long time back and until forever,

But {afterward} they turned back and they brought back the [male] slaves and the female slaves whom they had let go free, and they subdued them as [male] slaves and female slaves.

But you turned back and you profaned my name when you brought back each one his [male] slave and each one his female slave, whom you had let go free according to their desire, and you subdued them to be to you as [male] slaves and as female slaves.'

Why do I see them terrified? [They are] turning back and their warriors are beaten down. And they have fled [to] a place of refuge and they do not turn [back]. Terror [is] from all around," {declares} Yahweh.

Why do these people of Jerusalem go back, for ever turning away? they will not give up their deceit, they will not come back.

Now while he was not yet gone back, Go back then,'said he , to Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, whom the king of Babylon hath made governor over the cities of Judah, and dwell with him among the people; or go wheresoever it seemeth right unto thee to go. So the captain of the guard gave him victuals and a present, and let him go.

They say, If a man puts away his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man's, will he go back to her again? will not that land have been made unclean? but though you have been acting like a loose woman with a number of lovers, will you now come back to me? says the Lord.

If you will come back, O Israel, says the Lord, you will come back to me: and if you will put away your disgusting ways, you will not be sent away from before me.

So have no fear, O Jacob, my servant, says the Lord; and do not be troubled, O Israel: for see, I will make you come back from far away, and your seed from the land where they are prisoners; and Jacob will come back, and will be quiet and at peace, and no one will give him cause for fear.

But have no fear, O Jacob, my servant, and do not be troubled, O Israel: for see, I will make you come back from far away, and your seed from the land where they are prisoners; and Jacob will come back, and will be quiet and in peace, and no one will give him cause for fear.

And I say, after her doing all these, Unto Me thou dost turn back, and she hath not turned back, and see it doth her treacherous sister Judah.

And it hath been, after My plucking them out, I turn back, and have pitied them, And I have brought them back, Each to his inheritance, and each to his land.

And I have been found of you -- an affirmation of Jehovah; and I have turned back to your captivity, and have gathered you out of all the nations, and out of all the places whither I have driven you -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- and I have brought you back unto the place whence I removed you.

For, lo, days are coming -- an affirmation of Jehovah -- and I have turned back to the captivity of My people Israel and Judah, said Jehovah, and I have caused them to turn back unto the land that I gave to their fathers, and they do possess it.'

I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself, 'Thou hast chastised me, And I am chastised, as a heifer not taught, Turn me back, and I turn back, For thou art Jehovah my God.

Set up for thee signs, make for thee heaps, Set thy heart to the highway, the way thou wentest, Turn back, O virgin of Israel, Turn back unto these thy cities.

And Johanan son of Kareah, and all the heads of the forces who are with him, take all the remnant of the people whom he hath brought back from Ishmael son of Nethaniah, from Mizpah -- after he had smitten Gedaliah son of Ahikam -- mighty ones, men of war, and women, and infants, and eunuchs, whom he had brought back from Gibeon,

But our tents have been destroyed. The ropes that held them in place have been ripped apart. Our children are gone and are not coming back. There is no survivor to put our tents back up, no one left to hang their tent curtains in place.

"Come back to me, my wayward sons," says the Lord, "for I am your true master. If you do, I will take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion.

And say to them, Thus said Jehovah, Shall they fall and not rise? if he shall turn back, and not turn back?

And I shall send to you all my servants the prophets, rising early and sending, saying, Turn ye back now each from his evil way, and make good your doings, and ye shall not go after other gods to serve them, and turn ye back to the land which I gave to you and to your fathers: and ye inclined not your ear and ye heard not to me.

And upon the land where they lift up their soul to turn back there, there they shall not turn back.

They will come back shedding tears of contrition. I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance. I will lead them besides streams of water, along smooth paths where they will never stumble. I will do this because I am Israel's father; Ephraim is my firstborn son.'"

I will make many stumble. They will fall over one another in their hurry to flee. They will say, 'Get up! Let's go back to our own people. Let's go back to our homelands because the enemy is coming to destroy us.'

Cleanse your heart from wickedness, Jerusalem, so that you may be saved. {How long} will your thoughts of mischief dwell in your inner part?

Thus says Yahweh: "Look, a people [is] coming from [the] land of [the] north, a great nation is woken up from [the] farthest part of [the] earth.

What hath my beloved to do in my house, seeing that the more part practise their evil devices, and the holy flesh is passed from thee? When thou doest evil, then thou rejoicest.

Look, a people [is] about to come from [the] north, and a great nation and many kings are woken up from [the] remotest part of [the] earth.

This is your fate, the part measured out to you by me, says the Lord, because you have put me out of your memory and put your faith in what is false.

I will give your wealth and your stores to your attackers, without a price, because of all your sins, even in every part of your land.

I will give your wealth and all your stores to be taken away in war without a price, because of your sins in every part of your land.

And this was done by all the rulers and the people who had taken part in the agreement, and every one let his man-servant and his servant-girl go free, not to be used as servants any longer; they did so, and let them go.