Daily Bible GNT July 17 Verses

The LORD's Mercy on Israel

¹⁵The LORD says,

"A sound is heard in Ramah,

the sound of bitter weeping.

Rachel is crying for her children;

they are gone,

and she refuses to be comforted.

¹⁶Stop your crying

and wipe away your tears.

All that you have done for your children

will not go unrewarded;

they will return from the enemy's land.

¹⁷There is hope for your future;

your children will come back home.

I, the LORD, have spoken.

¹⁸"I hear the people of Israel say in grief,

'LORD, we were like an untamed animal,

but you taught us to obey.

Bring us back;

we are ready to return to you,

the LORD our God.

¹⁹We turned away from you,

but soon we wanted to return.

After you had punished us,

we hung our heads in grief.

We were ashamed and disgraced

because we sinned when we were young.'

²⁰"Israel, you are my dearest child,

the one I love best.

Whenever I mention your name,

I think of you with love.

My heart goes out to you;

I will be merciful.

²¹Set up signs and mark the road;

find again the way by which you left.

Come back, people of Israel,

come home to the towns you left.

²²How long will you hesitate, faithless people?

I have created something new and different,

as different as a woman protecting a man."

The Future Prosperity of God's People

²³The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says, "When I restore the people to their land, they will once again say in the land of Judah and in its towns,

'May the LORD bless the sacred hill of Jerusalem,

the holy place where he lives.'
²⁴People will live in Judah and in all its towns, and there will be farmers, and shepherds with their flocks. ²⁵I will refresh those who are weary and will satisfy with food everyone who is weak from hunger. ²⁶So then, people will say, 'I went to sleep and woke up refreshed.'

This reading is from The Holy Bible, Today's English Version, Second Edition copyright © American Bible Society, 1992;
Old Testament copyright © American Bible Society, 1976, 1992; New Testament © American Bible Society, 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992.

These daily Bible readings from the Good News Translation (GNT), formerly the Today's English Version (TEV), are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. All BibleCard® images are copyrighted by iCreative. All rights reserved.