¹ Samaria will be severely punished
    because she has rebelled against her God.
Her people will fall by the sword;
    her little ones will be dashed to pieces,
    and her pregnant women will be ripped open.^[a]

² Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God;
    your iniquity has been the cause of your downfall.
³ Prepare in advance what you want to say,
    and return to the Lord.
Say to him, “Take away all guilt
    and give us what is good,
so that we may present as offerings
    the bullocks from our stalls.
⁴ Assyria will not save us,
    nor shall we mount horses of war.
We shall never again say ‘Our god’
    to the work of our hands,
    for in you the fatherless find compassion.”
⁵ I will forgive them for their apostasy,
    and I will love them freely,
    for my wrath is turned away from them.
⁶ I will be like the dew to Israel;
    they will blossom like a lily;
    they will strike root like the cedars of Lebanon.
⁷ They will put out fresh shoots;
    their splendor shall be like that of the olive tree
    and their fragrance like the Lebanon cedar.
⁸ They shall again dwell in my shade
    and once again flourish like grain.
They shall blossom like the vine,
    and their fame will be like that of the wine of Lebanon.
⁹ What further dealings does Ephraim have with idols?
    I hear you and look out for your welfare.
I am like an evergreen cypress;
    your prosperity derives from me.

¹⁰ Let those who are wise understand these words,
    and let the prudent acknowledge them.
For straight are the ways of the Lord;
    the upright walk in them,
    but sinners stumble.^[c]