Hosea 14

Common English Bible

14 ^[a] Return, Israel, to the Lord your God;
        you have stumbled because of your wickedness.
² Prepare to speak
    and return to the Lord;
    say to the Lord,
        “Forgive all wickedness;
            and receive the good.
    Instead of bulls,
        let us offer what we can say:
³ Assyria won’t save us;
        we won’t ride upon horses;
    we will no longer say, ‘Our God,’
        to the work of our hands.
    In you the orphan finds compassion.”

⁴ I will heal their faithlessness;
                I will love them freely,
        for my anger has turned from them.
⁵ I will be like the dew to Israel;
        he will blossom like the lily;
        he will cast out his roots like the forests of Lebanon.^[b]
6 His branches will spread out;
        his beauty will be like the olive tree,
        and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.
⁷ They will again live beneath my shadow,
        they will flourish like a garden;
    they will blossom like the vine,
        their fragrance will be like the wine of Lebanon.
⁸ Ephraim, what do idols have to do with me?
        It is I who answer and look after you.
    I am like a green cypress tree;
        your fruit comes from me.

⁹ Whoever is wise understands these things.
    Whoever observes carefully knows them.
    Truly, the Lord’s ways are right,
        and the righteous will walk in them,
        but evildoers will stumble in them.