Hosea 14

A Plea to Repent

¹Israel, return to the Lord your God, ^a

for you have stumbled in your iniquity. ^b

²Take words of repentance with you ^c

and return to the Lord.

Say to him, “Forgive all our iniquity

and accept what is good,

so that we may repay you

with praise ^d from our ^e lips. ^f

³Assyria will not save us, ^g

we will not ride on horses, ^h

and we will no longer proclaim, ‘Our gods! ’ ⁱ

to the work of our hands. ^j

For the fatherless receives compassion in you.” ^k

A Promise of Restoration

⁴I will heal their apostasy; ^l

I will freely love them, ^m

for my anger will have turned from him. ⁿ

⁵I will be like the dew to Israel; ^o

he will blossom like the lily ^p

and take root like the cedars of Lebanon. ^q

⁶His new branches will spread,

and his splendor will be like the olive tree, ^r

his fragrance, like the forest of Lebanon. ^s

⁷The people will return and live beneath his shade. ^t

They will grow grain ^u

and blossom like the vine.

His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸Ephraim, why should I ^v have anything more

to do with idols? ^w

It is I who answer and watch over him.

I am like a flourishing pine tree; ^x

your fruit comes from me. ^y

⁹Let whoever is wise ^z understand these things,

and whoever is insightful recognize them.

For the ways of the Lord are right, ^aa

and the righteous walk in them, ^ab

but the rebellious stumble in them. ^ac