Because of ¹  our God’s tender mercy ²  the dawn ³  will break ⁴  upon us from on high

When I was a son to my father, ¹  a tender only child ²  before my mother,

However, in the future I will allure her; ¹  I will lead ²  her back into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.

to satisfy a devastated and desolate land, and to cause it to sprout with vegetation? ¹ 

“Learn ¹  this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

“Learn this parable from the fig tree: Whenever its branch becomes tender and puts out its leaves, you know that summer is near.

Then Abraham ran to the herd and chose a fine, tender calf, and gave it to a servant, ¹  who quickly prepared it. ² 

“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: “‘I will take a sprig ¹  from the lofty top of the cedar and plant it. ²  I will pluck from the top one of its tender twigs; I myself will plant it on a high and lofty mountain.

Remember ¹  your compassionate and faithful deeds, O Lord, for you have always acted in this manner. ² 

who delivers ¹  your life from the Pit, ²  who crowns you with his loyal love and compassion,

May I experience your compassion, ¹  so I might live! For I find delight in your law.

A righteous person cares for ¹  the life of his animal, but even the most compassionate acts ²  of the wicked are cruel.

Likewise, the most ¹  tender and delicate of your women, who would never think of putting even the sole of her foot on the ground because of her daintiness, ²  will turn against her beloved husband, her sons and daughters,

My teaching will drop like the rain, my sayings will drip like the dew, ¹  as rain drops upon the grass, and showers upon new growth.

“Fall down! Sit in the dirt, O virgin ¹  daughter Babylon! Sit on the ground, not on a throne, O daughter of the Babylonians! Indeed, ²  you will no longer be called delicate and pampered.

is like the light of morning when the sun comes up, a morning in which there are no clouds. He is like the brightness after rain that produces grass from the earth.

“But there is hope for ¹  a tree: ²  If it is cut down, it will sprout again, and its new shoots will not fail.

Your compassion is great, O Lord. Revive me, as you typically do! ¹ 

The Lord is good to all, and has compassion on all he has made. ¹ 

When the hay is removed and new grass appears, and the grass from the hills is gathered in,