Hosea 14
1 Return, Israel, to the Lord your God, because your sins have brought you down.
Return thou, O Israel, unto Yahweh thy God, —for thou hast stumbled by thine iniquity.
2 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.
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 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.”
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 heal their unfaithfulness; I will love them freely, for I'm not angry with them any more.
I will heal their apostacy, I will love them freely, —for mine anger, hath turned, from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel, they will blossom like lilies, they will send down roots like the cedars of 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 They shall send out new shoots, their splendor will be like the olive tree, their scent will be like the cedars of Lebanon.
His branches, shall spread, that, like an olive-tree, may be his fresh beauty, —and his fragrance, like Lebanon.
7 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.
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 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.
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 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.
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.
