14TH CHAPTERa

The Lord Offers to Forgive Israel

1  Israel, return to the Lord your God. 

You have stumbled because of your sins. 

2  Return to the Lord, and say these things to him: 

“Forgive all our sins, and kindly receive us. 

Then we’ll praise you with our lips. 

3  Assyria cannot save us. 

We won’t ride on horses anymore. 

We will never again say 

that the things our hands have made are our gods. 

You love orphans.” 

4  ⸤The Lord says,⸥ “I will cure them of their unfaithfulness. 

I will love them freely. 

I will no longer be angry with them. 

5  I will be like dew to the people of Israel. 

They will blossom like flowers. 

They will be firmly rooted like cedars from Lebanon. 

6  They will be like growing branches. 

They will be beautiful like olive trees. 

They will be fragrant like cedars from Lebanon. 

7  They will live again in God’s shadow. 

They will grow like grain. 

They will blossom like grapevines. 

They will be as famous as the wines from Lebanon. 

8  “The people of Ephraim will have nothing more to do with idols. 

I will answer them and take care of them. 

I am like a growing pine tree. 

Their fruit comes from me.” 

9  Wise people will understand these things. 

A person with insight will recognize them. 

The Lord’s ways are right. 

Righteous people live by them. 

Rebellious people stumble over them.