Hosea 14

1 O Israel, return unto Jehovah thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.

Return, Israel, to the Lord your God, because your sins have brought you down.

2 Take with you words, and turn to Jehovah; say unto him, Forgive all iniquity, and receive [us] graciously; so will we render the calves of our lips.

Take words like these with you and come back to the Lord, saying to him, “Please take away all our guilt, accept what is good, and we will repay you with praise from our lips.

3 Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, [Thou art] our God; because in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

Assyria can't save us; we will not ride our warhorses; we will never again say ‘You are our gods’ to the idols we have made. For in you orphans find mercy.”

4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from him.

I will heal their unfaithfulness; I will love them freely, for I'm not angry with them any more.

5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.

I will be like the dew to Israel, they will blossom like lilies, they will send down roots like the cedars of Lebanon.

6 His shoots shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his smell as Lebanon.

They shall send out new shoots, their splendor will be like the olive tree, their scent will be like the cedars of Lebanon.

7 They shall return and sit under his shadow; they shall revive [as] corn, and blossom as the vine: the renown thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.

Those who live under their shade shall return, they will flourish like grain, they will blossom like the vine, and they will be as famous as the wine of Lebanon.

8 Ephraim [shall say], What have I to do any more with idols? (I answer [him], and I will observe him.) I am like a green fir-tree. — From me is thy fruit found.

Ephraim, how much more do I have to warn you about idols? I have answered and now I am watching. I am like a tree that is evergreen; your fruit is found in me.

9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? intelligent, and he shall know them? For the ways of Jehovah are right, and the just shall walk in them; but the transgressors shall fall therein.

Who is wise to understand these things? Who has discernment in understanding them? The Lord's paths are right—the good follow them, but rebels trip and fall along the way.