Hosea 14
1 “Turn back, O Israel, to your God YHWH, For you have stumbled by your iniquity.
Return, Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity.
2 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.
Take words of repentance with you, and return to the Lord your God. Say to him: Wholly pardon our iniquity, accept that which is good, instead of sacrificing bulls, we offer our praise.
3 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.
Assyria will not save us, nor Egyptian warhorses, and we will no more call the work of our hands our gods. For in you orphan Israel finds mercy.
4 I heal their backsliding, I love them freely, For My anger has turned back from him.
‘I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely, now that my anger is turned away from them,
5 I am as dew to Israel, he flourishes as a lily, And he strikes forth his roots as Lebanon.
I will be as dew to Israel. He will blossom like the lily, he will plant his roots like the cedars of Lebanon,
6 His shoots go on, And his splendor is as an olive, And he has fragrance as Lebanon.
his saplings will spread out, his beauty will be like that of the olive tree, his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.
7 The dwellers return under his shadow, They revive [as] grain, and flourish as a vine, His memorial [is] as wine of Lebanon.
People will return and dwell in my shade, they will bring life to new grain. They shall sprout like the vine, and their renown will be like that of the wine of Lebanon.
8 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.
Ephraim – what have I to do with idols! It is I the Lord who respond to him and look after him. I am like an evergreen cypress, from me is your fruit found.
9 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!”
Whoever is wise, let him discern these things, prudent, let him perceive them; For the Lord’s ways are straight, and the righteous walk in them, but the wicked stumble in them.
