Then you will think to yourself,‘ Who has given me all these descendants? For most of my children were killed, and the rest were carried away into exile. I was left here all alone. Where did all these people come from? Who bore these children? Who raised them for me?’”

那时你心里必说：我既丧子独居，是被掳的，漂流在外。谁给我生这些？谁将这些养大呢？撇下我一人独居的时候，这些在哪里呢？’”

那时你心里必说：“我既丧子不育，被掳，飘流在外，谁给我生了这些？谁将他们养大呢？看哪，我被撇下独自一人时，他们都在哪里呢？”

那时你心里必说：“我既丧子不育，被掳，飘流在外，谁给我生了这些？谁将他们养大呢？看哪，我被撇下独自一人时，他们都在哪里呢？”

你会在心里问，‘我丧失了儿女、不再生育、流亡在外、漂流不定，谁给我生了这些儿女？谁把他们养大？我孤身一人，他们是从哪里来的？’”

那时你心里必说：‘我既丧子，又不能生育；我是被掳的，又是被放逐在外的，谁给我生了这些孩子呢？谁把这些孩子养大呢？看哪！我独自一人被撇下，这些孩子是从哪里来的呢？’”

那时你心里必说：‘我既丧子，又不能生育，我被掳、被放逐，究竟是谁给我生了这些孩子呢？又是谁把这些孩子养大的呢？看哪！我被留下孤身一人，这些孩子究竟是从哪里来的呢？’”

那時你心裏必說：我既喪子獨居，是被擄的，漂流在外。誰給我生這些？誰將這些養大呢？撇下我一人獨居的時候，這些在哪裏呢？

那時你心裏必說：「我既喪子不育，被擄，飄流在外，誰給我生了這些？誰將他們養大呢？看哪，我被撇下獨自一人時，他們都在哪裏呢？」

那時你心裏必說：「我既喪子不育，被擄，飄流在外，誰給我生了這些？誰將他們養大呢？看哪，我被撇下獨自一人時，他們都在哪裏呢？」

你會在心裡問，『我喪失了兒女、不再生育、流亡在外、漂流不定，誰給我生了這些兒女？誰把他們養大？我孤身一人，他們是從哪裡來的？』」

那時你心裡必說：‘我既喪子，又不能生育；我是被擄的，又是被放逐在外的，誰給我生了這些孩子呢？誰把這些孩子養大呢？看哪！我獨自一人被撇下，這些孩子是從哪裡來的呢？’”

那時你心裏必說：「我既喪子，又不能孕育，又是被擄、被放逐於外的，誰給我生了這些孩子呢？誰將這些孩子養大呢？看哪，我被剩下、獨自一人：這些孩子從哪兒來呢？」』

那時你心裡必說：『我既喪子，又不能生育，我被擄、被放逐，究竟是誰給我生了這些孩子呢？又是誰把這些孩子養大的呢？看哪！我被留下孤身一人，這些孩子究竟是從哪裡來的呢？』」

爾將自謂、我既喪子、孑然一身、見逐流離、若輩誰所誕育耶、且我獨居、若輩何從而有耶、○

爾將謂焉得有是子耶、我子流離、自為鰥獨、見擄驅逐、伶仃無依、今此子果誰育之哉。

其時爾心自言曰、我喪子獨居、遭擄掠、被驅逐、此眾誰為我生之育之、我孤獨無依、此眾自何而有、

Then you will say in your heart,‘ Who bore me these? I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. Who brought these up? I was left all alone, but these— where have they come from?’”

Then you will say to yourself,‘ Whose children are these? I lost my children. And I couldn’t have any more. My children were taken far away from me. And no one wanted them. Who brought these children up? I was left all alone. So where have these children come from?’ ”

Then you will say in your heart:‘ Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away, but who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; from where have these come?’”

Then you will say within yourself,‘ Who fathered these for me? I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive, exiled and wandering— but who brought them up? See, I was left by myself— but these, where did they come from?’”

Then you will say in your heart,‘ Who has fathered these for me, Since I have been bereaved of my children And cannot conceive, and I am an exile, and a wanderer? And who has raised these? Behold, I was left alone; Where are these from?’ ”

Then you will say in your heart,‘ Who has begotten these for me, Since I have lost my children and am desolate, A captive, and wandering to and fro? And who has brought these up? There I was, left alone; But these, where were they?’”

Then shalt thou say in thy heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have been bereaved of my children, and am solitary, an exile, and wandering to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where were they?

Then you will say within yourself,‘ Who fathered these for me? I was deprived of my children and unable to conceive, exiled and wandering— but who brought them up? See, I was left by myself— but these, where did they come from?’”

Then shalt thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; these, where[ had] they[ been]?

Then you will think to yourself,‘ Who bore these children for me? I was bereaved and barren, dismissed and divorced. Who raised these children? Look, I was left all alone; where did these children come from?’”

Then you will say in your heart,‘ Who has conceived these for me, since I have been bereaved of my children and am alone, an exile, and wandering back and forth? Who has brought these up? Behold, I was left alone. Where were these?’”

This is what the Lord says:“ A cry is heard in Ramah— deep anguish and bitter weeping. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted— for her children are gone.”But now this is what the Lord says:“ Do not weep any longer, for I will reward you,” says the Lord.“ Your children will come back to you from the distant land of the enemy.There is hope for your future,” says the Lord.“ Your children will come again to their own land.

But the other woman, Sarah, represents the heavenly Jerusalem. She is the free woman, and she is our mother.As Isaiah said,“ Rejoice, O childless woman, you who have never given birth! Break into a joyful shout, you who have never been in labor! For the desolate woman now has more children than the woman who lives with her husband!”And you, dear brothers and sisters, are children of the promise, just like Isaac.But you are now being persecuted by those who want you to keep the law, just as Ishmael, the child born by human effort, persecuted Isaac, the child born by the power of the Spirit.

Jerusalem, once so full of people, is now deserted. She who was once great among the nations now sits alone like a widow. Once the queen of all the earth, she is now a slave.She sobs through the night; tears stream down her cheeks. Among all her lovers, there is no one left to comfort her. All her friends have betrayed her and become her enemies.Judah has been led away into captivity, oppressed with cruel slavery. She lives among foreign nations and has no place of rest. Her enemies have chased her down, and she has nowhere to turn.

The gates of Zion will weep and mourn. The city will be like a ravaged woman, huddled on the ground.

So my people will go into exile far away because they do not know me. Those who are great and honored will starve, and the common people will die of thirst.

And now that you belong to Christ, you are the true children of Abraham. You are his heirs, and God’s promise to Abraham belongs to you.

Your holy cities are destroyed. Zion is a wilderness; yes, Jerusalem is a desolate ruin.

For you will soon be bursting at the seams. Your descendants will occupy other nations and resettle the ruined cities.“ Fear not; you will no longer live in shame. Don’t be afraid; there is no more disgrace for you. You will no longer remember the shame of your youth and the sorrows of widowhood.For your Creator will be your husband; the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is his name! He is your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel, the God of all the earth.For the Lord has called you back from your grief— as though you were a young wife abandoned by her husband,” says your God.“ For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will take you back.In a burst of anger I turned my face away for a little while. But with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer.

And so all Israel will be saved. As the Scriptures say,“ The one who rescues will come from Jerusalem, and he will turn Israel away from ungodliness.And this is my covenant with them, that I will take away their sins.”Many of the people of Israel are now enemies of the Good News, and this benefits you Gentiles. Yet they are still the people he loves because he chose their ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.For God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn.Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead.Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy.

They will be killed by the sword or sent away as captives to all the nations of the world. And Jerusalem will be trampled down by the Gentiles until the period of the Gentiles comes to an end.

Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves.Now if the Gentiles were enriched because the people of Israel turned down God’s offer of salvation, think how much greater a blessing the world will share when they finally accept it.I am saying all this especially for you Gentiles. God has appointed me as the apostle to the Gentiles. I stress this,for I want somehow to make the people of Israel jealous of what you Gentiles have, so I might save some of them.For since their rejection meant that God offered salvation to the rest of the world, their acceptance will be even more wonderful. It will be life for those who were dead!And since Abraham and the other patriarchs were holy, their descendants will also be holy— just as the entire batch of dough is holy because the portion given as an offering is holy. For if the roots of the tree are holy, the branches will be, too.But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree— some of the people of Israel— have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.

“ Though you were once despised and hated, with no one traveling through you, I will make you beautiful forever, a joy to all generations.

You, by nature, were a branch cut from a wild olive tree. So if God was willing to do something contrary to nature by grafting you into his cultivated tree, he will be far more eager to graft the original branches back into the tree where they belong.

Wake up, wake up, O Jerusalem! You have drunk the cup of the Lord’s fury. You have drunk the cup of terror, tipping out its last drops.Not one of your children is left alive to take your hand and guide you.These two calamities have fallen on you: desolation and destruction, famine and war. And who is left to sympathize with you? Who is left to comfort you?For your children have fainted and lie in the streets, helpless as antelopes caught in a net. The Lord has poured out his fury; God has rebuked them.

Never again will you be called“ The Forsaken City” or“ The Desolate Land.” Your new name will be“ The City of God’s Delight” and“ The Bride of God,” for the Lord delights in you and will claim you as his bride.

Beautiful Jerusalem stands abandoned like a watchman’s shelter in a vineyard, like a lean to in a cucumber field after the harvest, like a helpless city under siege.

“ Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

Rise from the dust, O Jerusalem. Sit in a place of honor. Remove the chains of slavery from your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.