- 1
- ¶ O ISRAEL, return to the LORD your God;
for you have fallen by your iniquity.
- 2
- Pledge loyalty, and turn to the LORD your God;
and pray to him, that he may forgive your iniquity and receive blessings; then he will recompense you for the prayer of your lips.
- 3
- And say, Assyria shall not save us;
we will not ride upon horses; neither will we call any more the work of our hands, gods; for thou wilt have mercy upon the fatherless.
- 4
- ¶ I will heal their backsliding, I will love their vows;
and my anger shall turn away from them.
- 5
- I will be as the dew to Israel;
he shall spring up as the lily, and cast forth his roots as cedars of Lebanon.
- 6
- His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be like the olive tree, and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.
- 7
- They shall return and dwell under his shadow;
they shall flourish like grain, and grow as the vine; and their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
- 8
- ¶ Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols?
I have humbled him, and I will glorify him; I am like a green fir tree. From me is your fruit found.
- 9
- He who is wise shall understand these things;
he who is prudent shall know them; for the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous shall walk in them; but transgressors shall stumble therein.
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