Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a darling child? For as often as I speak against him, I do earnestly remember him still. Therefore my heart yearns for him. I will surely have mercy upon him, says LORD.
They shall come with weeping. And I will lead them with supplications. I will cause them to walk by rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they shall not stumble. For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.
Jesus says to her, Do not touch me, for I have not yet ascended to my Father. But go to my brothers, and say to them, I ascend to my Father and your Father, and my God and your God.
Have I conceived all this people? Have I brought them forth, that thou should say to me, Carry them in thy bosom, as a nursing-father carries the sucking child, to the land which thou swore to their fathers?
And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break my covenant with them, for I am LORD their God,