Hosea 14
1 O Israel, come back to the Lord your God; for your evil-doing has been the cause of your fall.
Return thou, O Israel, unto Yahweh thy God, —for thou hast stumbled by thine 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 with you words, and return to Yahweh: say unto him—Wholly, shalt thou take away iniquity, Accept, then, with favour, and we will make good the boldness 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.
Assyria, shall not save us, Upon horses, will we not ride, neither will we say any more—Our god! to the work of our own hands! For, in thee, shall the fatherless, find compassion.
4 I will put right their errors; freely will my love be given to them, for my wrath is turned away from him.
I will heal their apostacy, I will love them freely, —for mine anger, hath turned, from them.
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 will become as the dew unto Israel, he shall break forth as the lily, —and he shall strike 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 branches, shall spread, that, like an olive-tree, may be his fresh beauty, —and his fragrance, like 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.
They who dwell in his shade shall again show life like the corn, and break forth as the vine, —and, the remembrance of him, shall be like the 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.
Ephraim [saith] —What to me any more are idols? I, have answered, and have closely observed him, I, am like a fir-tree that is green, From me, is thy fruit found.
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, that he may understand these things? intelligent, that he may take knowledge of them? For, straightforward, are the ways of Yahweh, and, the righteous, shall travel therein, but, transgressors, shall stumble therein.
