An Exhortation to Repentance
1 Israel, return to the Lord your God,
for you have fallen because of your sin.
2 Take your confessions with you,
and return to the Lord.
Tell him, “Forgive all our sins,
and receive us graciously,
and we will offer our sacrifice of praise.
3 Assyria cannot save us.
We will not ride on horses,
nor will we say any more
to the work of our hands, ‘Our gods!’
For in you the fatherless finds mercy.”
A Promise of God’s Blessing
4 I will heal their apostasy.
I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from him.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel.
He will blossom like the lily,
and send down his roots like Lebanon.
6 His branches will spread,
and his beauty will be like the olive tree,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 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 Ephraim, what have I to do any more with idols?
It is I who answers and takes care of him.
I am like a green cypress tree.
It is from me that your fruit comes.
9 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.