^5 (4) “I will heal their disloyalty,
I will love them freely;
for my anger has turned from him.
^6 (5) I will be like dew to Isra’el;
he will blossom like a lily
and strike roots like the L’vanon.
^7 (6) His branches will spread out,
his beauty be like an olive tree
and his fragrance like the L’vanon.
^8 (7) Again they will live in his shade and raise grain;
they will blossom like a vine,
and its aroma will be
like the wine of the L’vanon.
^9 (8) Efrayim [will say], ‘What have I
to do any more with idols?’
And I, I answer and affirm him;
I am like a fresh, green cypress tree;
your fruitfulness comes from me.”
^10 (9) Let the wise understand these things,
and let the discerning know them.
For the ways of Adonai are straight,
And the righteous walk in them,
but in them sinners stumble.

¹² “Yet even now,” says Adonai,
“turn to me with all your heart,
with fasting, weeping and lamenting.”
¹³ Tear your heart, not your garments;
and turn to Adonai your God.
For he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to anger, rich in grace,
and willing to change his mind about disaster.
¹⁴ Who knows? He may turn, change his mind
and leave a blessing behind him,
[enough for] grain offerings and drink offerings
to present to Adonai your God.

¹⁵ “Blow the shofar in Tziyon!
Proclaim a holy fast,
call for a solemn assembly.”

¹⁶ Gather the people; consecrate the congregation;
assemble the leaders; gather the children,
even infants sucking at the breast;
let the bridegroom leave his room
and the bride the bridal chamber.
¹⁷ Let the cohanim, who serve Adonai,
stand weeping between the vestibule and the altar.
Let them say, “Spare your people, Adonai!
Don’t expose your heritage to mockery,
or make them a byward among the Goyim.
Why should the peoples say, ‘Where is their God?’”

¹⁸ Then Adonai will become jealous for his land
and have pity on his people.
¹⁹ Here is how Adonai will answer his people:
“I will send you grain, wine and olive oil,
enough to satisfy you;
and no longer will I make you
a mockery among the Goyim.
²⁰ No, I will take the northerner away,
far away from you,
and drive him to a land
that is waste and barren;
with his vanguard toward the eastern sea
and his rearguard toward the western sea,
his stench and his rottenness will rise,
because he has done great things.”

²¹ Don’t fear, O soil; be glad! rejoice!
for Adonai has done great things.
²² Don’t be afraid, wild animals;
for the desert pastures are green,
the trees are putting out their fruit,
the fig tree and vine are giving full yield.
²³ Be glad, people of Tziyon!
rejoice in Adonai your God!
For he is giving you
the right amount of rain in the fall,
he makes the rain come down for you,
the fall and spring rains — this is what he does first.
²⁴ Then the floors will be full of grain
and the vats overflow with wine and olive oil.

²⁵ “I will restore to you the years that the locusts ate,
the grasshoppers, shearer-worms and cutter-worms,
my great army that I sent against you.
²⁶ You will eat until you are satisfied
and will praise the name of Adonai your God,
who has done with you such wonders.
Then my people will never again be shamed.

¹⁸ Who is a God like you,
pardoning the sin and overlooking the crimes
of the remnant of his heritage?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in grace.
¹⁹ He will again have compassion on us,
he will subdue our iniquities.
You will throw all their sins
into the depths of the sea.
²⁰ You will show truth to Ya‘akov
and grace to Avraham,
as you have sworn to our ancestors
since days of long ago.