- 1
- O Israel, return unto Jehovah thy God;
for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
- 2
- Take with you words, and return unto Jehovah: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and accept that which is good: so will we render [as] bullocks [the offering of] our lips.
- 3
- Assyria shall not save us;
we will not ride upon horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, [Ye are] our gods; for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
- 4
- I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely;
for mine anger is turned away from him.
- 5
- I will be as the dew unto Israel;
he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
- 6
- His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
- 7
- They that dwell under his shadow shall return;
they shall revive [as] the grain, and blossom as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
- 8
- Ephraim [shall say], What have I to do any more with idols?
I have answered, and will regard him: I am like a green fir-tree; from me is thy fruit found.
- 9
- Who is wise, that he may understand these things?
prudent, that he may know them? for the ways of Jehovah are right, and the just shall walk in them; but transgressors shall fall therein.
|