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Hosea 14
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Hosea 14
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 14
1 Samaria[a] has become guilty,
for she has rebelled against her God.
They shall fall by the sword,
their infants shall be dashed to pieces,(A)
their pregnant women shall be ripped open.(B)
Sincere Conversion and New Life
2 Return, Israel, to the Lord, your God;
you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
3 Take with you words,
and return to the Lord;
Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,
and take what is good.
Let us offer the fruit of our lips.(C)
4 [b]Assyria will not save us,
nor will we mount horses;(D)
We will never again say, ‘Our god,’
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan finds compassion.”(E)
5 I will heal their apostasy,
I will love them freely;
for my anger is turned away from them.
6 I will be like the dew for Israel:(F)
he will blossom like the lily;
He will strike root like the Lebanon cedar,
7 and his shoots will go forth.(G)
His splendor will be like the olive tree
and his fragrance like Lebanon cedar.(H)
8 Again they will live in his shade;
they will raise grain,
They will blossom like the vine,
and his renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
9 Ephraim! What more have I to do with idols?(I)
I have humbled him, but I will take note of him.
I am like a verdant cypress tree.[c]
From me fruit will be found for you!
Epilogue
10 [d]Who is wise enough to understand these things?(J)
Who is intelligent enough to know them?
Straight are the paths of the Lord,(K)
the just walk in them,(L)
but sinners stumble in them.
Footnotes
- 14:1 Samaria: the capital of the Northern Kingdom will fall; this is the punishment predicted for Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom.
- 14:4 These good intentions promise a reversal of Israel’s sins: no more reliance on “Assyria,” i.e., on foreign alliances (see notes on 8:9 and 12:2), on “horses,” i.e., on human power (10:13), and on idolatry (8:4–6; 13:2). Israel will trust in the Lord alone.
- 14:9 Verdant cypress tree: the symbol of lasting life, the opposite of the sacred trees of the Baal cult (4:13). The Lord provides the “fruit” (peri) to Israel (2:7, 10), another instance of the wordplay on Ephraim (see notes on 9:16 and 13:15).
- 14:10 A challenge to the reader in the style of the wisdom literature.
Hosea 14
New International Version
Hosea 14
New International Version
Repentance to Bring Blessing
14 [a]Return,(A) Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins(B) have been your downfall!(C)
2 Take words with you
and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
“Forgive(D) all our sins
and receive us graciously,(E)
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.[b](F)
3 Assyria cannot save us;(G)
we will not mount warhorses.(H)
We will never again say ‘Our gods’(I)
to what our own hands have made,(J)
for in you the fatherless(K) find compassion.”
4 “I will heal(L) their waywardness(M)
and love them freely,(N)
for my anger has turned away(O) from them.
5 I will be like the dew(P) to Israel;
he will blossom like a lily.(Q)
Like a cedar of Lebanon(R)
he will send down his roots;(S)
6 his young shoots will grow.
His splendor will be like an olive tree,(T)
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.(U)
7 People will dwell again in his shade;(V)
they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom(W) like the vine—
Israel’s fame will be like the wine(X) of Lebanon.(Y)
8 Ephraim, what more have I[c] to do with idols?(Z)
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;(AA)
your fruitfulness comes from me.”
Footnotes
- Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.
- Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls
- Hosea 14:8 Or Hebrew; Septuagint What more has Ephraim
Hosea 14
King James Version
Hosea 14
King James Version
14 O israel, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
2 Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our lips.
3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.
5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is thy fruit found.
9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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