When the Lord brought us back to Zion,
we felt we were in a dream.
Our mouths overflowed with laughter,
and song burst out on our tongues.
Every nation on earth said,
“Look what the Lord has done for them!”
The Lord has done marvelous things for us;
our hearts run over with joy.
He restored us among the nations;
he brought us back from the dead,
like a dry riverbed in the desert,
which swells to life in the spring.
Those who now sow in tears
will reap with songs of thanksgiving.
Those who weep as they go out,
carrying their bags of seed,
will come back singing with joy,
carrying the harvest in their hands.