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Hosea 14:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Hosea 14:1-3
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 14
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]
Come Back, O Israel, and I Will Love You[b]
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.
Footnotes
- Hosea 14:1 Symbolize human means of winning safety.
- Hosea 14:2 No matter how somber this tableau appears to be, the threats cannot be the last word of humans to God since they are not the last words of God himself. Hosea wishes to prepare his people for conversion. Now he announces a kind of liturgy of repentance. God responds with a grand promise of grace. He desires the profound return of his people, ties of true and loyal love. He wants people to uproot sin, idolatry, and self-sufficiency; the last word will remain about salvation. After such sadness, what a moving promise!
