⁹ They will come with weeping;^(A)
    they will pray as I bring them back.
I will lead^(B) them beside streams of water^(C)
    on a level^(D) path where they will not stumble,
because I am Israel’s father,^(E)
    and Ephraim is my firstborn son.

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.

⁶ Those who go out weeping,^(A)
    carrying seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
    carrying sheaves with them.