1 Return to Yahweh your God, O Israel, for you have stumbled because of your sin.
2 Take words with you, and return to Yahweh. Say to him, “Take away all guilt; accept good, and we will offer the fruit of our lips.
3 Assyria will not save us; we will not ride on horses, and we will say no more, “Our God,” to the work of our hands because in you the fatherless child finds mercy.
4 I will heal their disloyalty; I will love them freely because my anger has turned back from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily plant, and he will strike his roots like the trees of Lebanon.
6 His new plant shoots will spread out; his splendor will be like the olive tree, and his scent like the trees of Lebanon.
7 They will again dwell in my shadow; they will grow grain and they will blossom like the plant vine; his fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols? I myself have answered and looked after you. I am like a luxuriant cypress; your fruit comes from me.
9 Who is wise that he can understand these things? Who is discerning that he knows them? The ways of Yahweh are right, and the righteous walk in them; but transgressors stumble in them.