Why will they come weeping and be led back with pleas for mercy even as the Lord leads them by “brooks of water” and a “straight path”?
The tension in Jeremiah 31:7 between singing with gladness and calling out to the Lord to save his people is seen in this verse as well. The Lord says his people will return from exile weeping
and with pleas for mercy
and yet the Lord will lead them back
and he will make them walk by brooks of water.
Much like with the Exodus, the journey from Babylon will be dangerous and difficult and there will be weeping and pleas for mercy along the way. But the Lord will be with them, leading them, caring for them, protecting them, just as he did before. The people will travel in complete dependence on the Lord not just for their physical safety but for their spiritual safety as well. The reality is that even though the Lord is with them on the journey bringing them to their destiny, joy and gladness will only completely replace sorrow and weeping when they finally reach the land.1
9 Ils viennent en pleurant, et je les conduis au milieu de leurs supplications; Je les mène vers des torrents d'eau, Par un chemin uni où ils ne chancellent pas; Car je suis un père pour Israël, Et Ephraïm est mon premier-né.