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18 “I have heard the groans of Ephraim’s people. They say,
    ‘You corrected us like a calf you were training.
    And we have been trained.
Bring us back to you, and we will come back.
    You are the Lord our God.
19 After we wandered away from you,
    we turned away from our sins.
After we learned our lesson,
    we beat our chests in sorrow.
We were full of shame.
    What we did when we were young brought dishonor on us.’
20 Aren’t the people of Ephraim my dear children?
    Aren’t they the children I take delight in?
I often speak against them.
    But I still remember them.
So my heart longs for them.
    I love them with a tender love,”
    announces the Lord.

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18 “I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning:
    ‘You disciplined(A) me like an unruly calf,(B)
    and I have been disciplined.
Restore(C) me, and I will return,
    because you are the Lord my God.
19 After I strayed,(D)
    I repented;
after I came to understand,
    I beat(E) my breast.
I was ashamed(F) and humiliated
    because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’(G)
20 Is not Ephraim my dear son,
    the child(H) in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
    I still remember(I) him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
    I have great compassion(J) for him,”
declares the Lord.

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