2 Take words of repentance with you and return to the Lord.Say to Him: “Forgive all our sinand accept what is good,so that we may repay Youwith praise from our lips.
3 Assyria will not save us, we will not ride on horses, and we will no longer proclaim, ‘Our gods! ’ to the work of our hands. For the fatherless receives compassion in You.”
4 I will heal their apostasy; I will freely love them, for My anger will have turned from him.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.
6 His new branches will spread,and his splendor will be like the olive tree, his fragrance, like the forest of Lebanon.
7 The people will return and live beneath his shade. They will grow grain and blossom like the vine.His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraim, why should I have anything moreto do with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him.I am like a flourishing pine tree; your fruit comes from Me.