< Hosea 14 >
1 Israel, be thou conuertid to thi Lord God, for thou fellist doun in thi wickidnesse.
Israel, return to the LORD your God; for you have fallen because of your sin.
2 Take ye wordis with you, and be ye conuertid to the Lord; and seie ye to hym, Do thou awei al wickidnesse, and take thou good; and we schulen yelde the caluys of oure lippis.
Take words with you, and return to the LORD. Tell him, “Forgive all our sins, and accept that which is good; so we offer bulls as we vowed of our lips.
3 Assur schal not saue vs, we schulen not stie on hors; and we schulen no more seie, Oure goddis ben the werkis of oure hondis; for thou schalt haue merci on that modirles child, which is in thee.
Assyria cannot save us. We will not ride on horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, ‘Our gods!’ for in you the fatherless finds mercy.”
4 Y schal make hool the sorewis of hem; Y schal loue hem wilfuli, for my strong veniaunce is turned awei fro hem.
“I will heal their waywardness. I will love them freely; for my anger is turned away from them.
5 Y schal be as a dew, and Israel schal buriowne as a lilie. And the root therof schal breke out as of the Liban;
I will be like the dew to Israel. He will blossom like the lily, and send down his roots like Lebanon.
6 the braunchis therof schulen go. And the glorye therof schal be as an olyue tree, and the odour therof schal be as of the Liban.
His branches will spread, and his beauty will be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 Thei schulen be conuertid, and sitte in the schadewe of hym; thei schulen lyue bi wheete, and schulen buriowne as a vyne. The memorial therof schal be as the wyne of Liban.
Men will dwell in his shade. They will revive like the grain, and blossom like the vine. Their fragrance will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Effraym, what schulen idols do more to me? Y schal here him, and Y schal dresse him as a greene fir tree. Thi fruit is foundun of me.
Ephraim, what have I to do any more with idols? I answer, and will take care of him. I am like a green cypress tree; from me your fruit is found.”
9 Who is wijs, and schal vndurstonde these thingis? who is vndurstondyng, and schal kunne these thingis? For the weies of the Lord ben riytful, and iust men schulen go in tho; but trespassours schulen falle in tho.
Who is wise, that he may understand these things? Who is prudent, that he may know them? For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them, but the rebellious stumble in them.