“Sing with joy for Israel,

the greatest of the nations.

Sing your song of praise,

‘The LORD has saved his people;

he has rescued all who are left.’

₈I will bring them from the north

and gather them from the ends of the earth.

The blind and the lame will come with them,

pregnant women and those about to give birth.

They will come back a great nation.

₉My people will return weeping,

praying as I lead them back.

I will guide them to streams of water,

on a smooth road where they will not stumble.

I am like a father to Israel,

and Ephraim is my eldest son.”

“Nations, listen to me,

and proclaim my words on the far-off shores.

I scattered my people, but I will gather them

and guard them as a shepherd guards his flock.

₁₁I have set Israel's people free

and have saved them from a mighty nation.

₁₂They will come and sing for joy on Mount Zion

and be delighted with my gifts —

gifts of corn and wine and olive oil,

gifts of sheep and cattle.

They will be like a well-watered garden;

they will have everything they need.

₁₃Then the young women will dance and be happy,

and men, young and old, will rejoice.

I will comfort them and turn their mourning into joy,

their sorrow into gladness.

₁₄I will fill the priests with the richest food

and satisfy all the needs of my people.

I, the LORD, have spoken.”

₃“I am the word spoken by the Most High.

I covered the earth like a mist.

₄I made my home in highest heaven,

my throne on a pillar of cloud.

₅Alone I walked round the circle of the sky

and walked through the ocean beneath the earth.

₆I ruled over all the earth and the ocean waves,

over every nation, over every people.

₇I looked everywhere for a place to settle,

some part of the world to make my home.

₈Then my Creator, who created the universe,

told me where I was to live.

‘Make your home in Israel,’ he said.

‘The descendants of Jacob will be your people.’

₉He created me in eternity, before time began,

and I will exist for all eternity to come.

₁₀I served him in the sacred Tent

and then made my home on Mount Zion.

₁₁He settled me in the Beloved City

and gave me authority over Jerusalem.

₁₂I put down roots among an honoured people

whom the Lord had chosen as his own.