Hosea 14
1 O Israel, come back to the Lord your God; for your evil-doing has been the cause of your fall.
“Turn back, O Israel, to your God YHWH, For you have stumbled by your iniquity.
2 Take with you words, and come back to the Lord; say to him, Let there be forgiveness for all wrongdoing, so that we may take what is good, and give in payment the fruit of our lips.
Take words with you, and turn to YHWH, Say to Him, Take away all iniquity, and give good, And we render the fruit of our lips.
3 Assyria will not be our salvation; we will not go on horses; we will not again say to the work of our hands, You are our gods; for in you there is mercy for the child who has no father.
Asshur does not save us, we do not ride on a horse, Nor do we say anymore, Our god, to the work of our hands, For in You the fatherless find mercy.
4 I will put right their errors; freely will my love be given to them, for my wrath is turned away from him.
I heal their backsliding, I love them freely, For My anger has turned back from him.
5 I will be as the dew to Israel; he will put out flowers like a lily, and send out his roots like Lebanon.
I am as dew to Israel, he flourishes as a lily, And he strikes forth his roots as Lebanon.
6 His branches will be stretched out, he will be beautiful as the olive-tree and sweet-smelling as Lebanon.
His shoots go on, And his splendor is as an olive, And he has fragrance as Lebanon.
7 They will come back and have rest in his shade; their life will be made new like the grain, and they will put out flowers like the vine; his name will be like the wine of Lebanon.
The dwellers return under his shadow, They revive [as] grain, and flourish as a vine, His memorial [is] as wine of Lebanon.
8 As for Ephraim, what has he to do with false gods any longer? I have given an answer and I will keep watch over him; I am like a branching fir-tree, from me comes your fruit.
O Ephraim, what have I anymore to do with idols? I have answered, and I look after him: I [am] as a green fir-tree, Your fruit is found from Me.
9 He who is wise will see these things; he who has good sense will have knowledge of them. For the ways of the Lord are straight, and the upright will go in them, but sinners will be falling in them.
Who [is] wise, and understands these? Prudent, and knows them? For upright are the ways of YHWH, And the righteous go on in them, And the transgressors stumble therein!”
