Hosea 14 - Lexham English Bible (LEB)

Return to Yahweh

14 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[a] of our lips.
3 Assyria will not save us;
we will not ride on horses,[b]
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;[c]
I will love them freely
because my anger has turned back
from them.[d]
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[e] in my[f] 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[g] with idols?
I myself have answered and looked after you.[h]
I am like a luxuriant cypress;
your fruit[i] 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.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 14:2 Hebrew uncertain
  2. Hosea 14:3 Hebrew “horse”
  3. Hosea 14:4 Or “backsliding”
  4. Hosea 14:4 Hebrew “him”
  5. Hosea 14:7 Literally “They shall return, they shall dwell”
  6. Hosea 14:7 Hebrew “his”
  7. Hosea 14:8 Literally “what for me”
  8. Hosea 14:8 Hebrew “him”
  9. Hosea 14:8 Or “your faithfulness”