Jeremiah 31:18-20

Common English Bible

¹⁸ I hear, yes, I hear Ephraim lamenting:
    “You disciplined me,
        and I learned my lesson,
    even though I was as stubborn as a mule.
Bring me back, let me return,
    because you are the Lord my God.
¹⁹ After I turned away from you,
    I regretted it;
    I realized what I had done,
        and I have hit myself^[a]—
    I was humiliated and disgraced,
        and I have carried this disgrace
        since I was young.”

²⁰ Isn’t Ephraim my much-loved child?
    Don’t I utterly adore him?
Even when I scold him,
    I still hold him dear.
I yearn for him and love him deeply,
    declares the Lord.