Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. 2 Take words with you and return to the Lord; say to him, “Take away all guilt; accept that which is good, and we will offer the fruit[a] of our lips. 3 Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; we will say no more, ‘Our God,’ to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.”
Assurance of Forgiveness
4 I will heal their disloyalty; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them. 5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily, he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon.[b] 6 His shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like that of Lebanon. 7 They shall again live beneath my[c] shadow, they shall flourish as a garden;[d] they shall blossom like the vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, what have I[e] to do with idols? It is I who answer and look after you.[f] I am like an evergreen cypress; your faithfulness[g] comes from me. 9 Those who are wise understand these things; those who are discerning know them. For the ways of the Lord are right, and the upright walk in them, but transgressors stumble in them.
Footnotes
a. Hosea 14:2 Gk Syr: Heb bulls
b. Hosea 14:5 Cn: Heb like Lebanon
c. Hosea 14:7 Heb his
d. Hosea 14:7 Cn: Heb they shall grow grain
e. Hosea 14:8 Or What more has Ephraim
f. Hosea 14:8 Heb him
g. Hosea 14:8 Heb your fruit
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.