¹⁸ Then the Lord had a care for the honour of his land and had pity on his people.

¹⁴ And the angel who was talking to me said to me, Let your voice be loud and say, These are the words of the Lord of armies: I am greatly moved about the fate of Jerusalem and of Zion.

² These are the words of the Lord of armies: I am angry about the fate of Zion, I am angry about her with great wrath.

¹³ As a father has pity on his children, so the Lord has pity on his worshippers.

¹¹ We say that those men who have gone through pain are happy: you have the story of Job and the troubles through which he went and have seen that the Lord was full of pity and mercy in the end.

¹⁵ Let your eyes be looking down from heaven, from your holy and beautiful house: where is your deep feeling, the working of your power? do not keep back the moving of your pity and your mercies:

⁹ It was no sent one or angel, but he himself who was their saviour: in his love and in his pity he took up their cause, and he took them in his arms, caring for them all through the years.

¹⁰ And men from strange countries will be building up your walls, and their kings will be your servants: for in my wrath I sent punishment on you, but in my grace I have had mercy on you.

²⁰ And he got up and went to his father. But while he was still far away, his father saw him and was moved with pity for him and went quickly and took him in his arms and gave him a kiss.

⁸ How may I give you up, O Ephraim? how may I be your saviour, O Israel? how may I make you like Admah? how may I do to you as I did to Zeboim? My heart is turned in me, it is soft with pity.

⁹ I will not put into effect the heat of my wrath; I will not again send destruction on Ephraim; for I am God and not man, the Holy One among you; I will not put an end to you.

²² It is through the Lord's love that we have not come to destruction, because his mercies have no limit.

²⁰ Is Ephraim my dear son? is he the child of my delight? for whenever I say things against him, I still keep him in my memory: so my heart is troubled for him; I will certainly have mercy on him, says the Lord.

¹³ The Lord will go out as a man of war, he will be moved to wrath like a fighting-man: his voice will be strong, he will give a loud cry; he will go against his attackers like a man of war.

¹⁷ But the mercy of the Lord is eternal for his worshippers, and their children's children will see his righteousness;

¹⁶ So they put away the strange gods from among them, and became the Lord's servants; and his soul was angry because of the sorrows of Israel.

⁴³ Be glad, O you his people, over the nations; for he will take payment for the blood of his servants, and will give punishment to his haters, and take away the sin of his land, for his people.

³⁶ For the Lord will be judge of his people, he will have pity for his servants; when he sees that their power is gone, there is no one, shut up or free.

¹⁶ The honour which was his they gave to strange gods; by their disgusting ways he was moved to wrath.