1 O Israel, return to the Lord your God,For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;
2 Take words with you,And return to the Lord.Say to Him,“Take away all iniquity;Receive us graciously,For we will offer the sacrifices of our lips.
3 Assyria shall not save us,We will not ride on horses,Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’For in You the fatherless finds mercy.”
4 “I will heal their backsliding,I will love them freely,For My anger has turned away from him.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;He shall grow like the lily,And lengthen his roots like Lebanon.
6 His branches shall spread;His beauty shall be like an olive tree,And his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 Those who dwell under his shadow shall return;They shall be revived like grain,And grow like a vine.Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 “Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’I have heard and observed him.I am like a green cypress tree;Your fruit is found in Me.”
9 Who is wise?Let him understand these things.Who is prudent?Let him know them.For the ways of the Lord are right;The righteous walk in them,But transgressors stumble in them.