Hosea 14
1 Turn back, O Israel, unto Jehovah thy God, For thou hast stumbled by thine iniquity.
Return, Israel, to the Lord your God, for you have stumbled in your iniquity.
2 Take with you words, and turn to Jehovah, Say ye unto Him: 'Take away all iniquity, and give good, And we do 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 doth not save us, on a horse we ride not, Nor do we say any more, Our God, to the work of our hands, For in Thee find mercy doth the fatherless.'
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 turned back hath Mine anger 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 flourisheth as a lily, And he striketh 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 Go on do his sucklings, And his beauty is as an olive, And he hath 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 Return do the dwellers under his shadow, They revive [as] corn, 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 to Me any more with idols? I — I afflicted, and I cause him to sing: 'I [am] as a green fir-tree,' From Me is thy fruit found.
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 doth understand these? Prudent, and knoweth them? For upright are the ways of Jehovah, 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.
