Hosea 13:16–14:9

^16sSamaria shall bear her guilt

because she has rebelled against her God;

they shall fall by the sword;

their little ones shall be dashed in pieces,

and their pregnant women ripped open.^*

A Plea for Repentance

¹⁴Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,

for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.^*

²Take words with you

and return to the Lord;

say to him,

“Take away all guilt;

accept that which is good,

and we will offer

the fruit^t of our lips.^*

³Assyria shall not save us;

we will not ride upon horses;

we will say no more, ‘Our God,’

to the work of our hands.

In you the orphan finds mercy.”^*

Assurance of Forgiveness

⁴I will heal their disloyalty;

I will love them freely,

for my anger has turned from them.^*

⁵I will be like the dew to Israel;

he shall blossom like the lily;

he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon.^u*

⁶His shoots shall spread out;

his beauty shall be like the olive tree

and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.^*

⁷They shall again live beneath my^v shadow;

they shall flourish as a garden;^w

they shall blossom like the vine;

their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.^*

⁸O Ephraim, what have I^x to do with idols?

It is I who answer and look after you.^y

I am like an evergreen cypress;

your fruit comes from me.^*

⁹Those who are wise understand these things;

those who are discerning know them.

For the ways of the Lord are right,

and the upright walk in them,

but transgressors stumble in them.^*