A Plea to Return to the Lord

14 (A)Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
    for (B)you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
Take with you words
    and return to the Lord;
say to him,
    “Take away all iniquity;
accept (C)what is good,
    and we will pay with bulls
    (D)the vows[a] of our lips.
(E)Assyria shall not save us;
    (F)we will not ride on horses;
and (G)we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
    to the work of our hands.
(H)In you the orphan finds mercy.”

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 14:2 Septuagint, Syriac pay the fruit

A Call to Repentance

14 [a]“Return, Israel, to the Lord your God,
    for you have fallen due to your own iniquity.
Bring a prepared speech with you
    as you return to the Lord. Say to him:

‘Take away all our[b] iniquity,
    and accept what is good.
Then we will present the fruit[c] of our lips.
Assyria won’t save us;
    we won’t be riding on horses,
Nor will we be saying anymore to the work of our hands,
    “You are[d] our God.”
        Indeed, in you the orphan finds mercy.’

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 14:1 This v. is 14:2 in MT, and so throughout the chapter.
  2. Hosea 14:2 The Heb. lacks our
  3. Hosea 14:2 So LXX and DSS. MT reads bulls
  4. Hosea 14:3 The Heb. lacks You are

Repentance to Bring Blessing

14 [a]Return,(A) Israel, to the Lord your God.
    Your sins(B) have been your downfall!(C)
Take words with you
    and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
    “Forgive(D) all our sins
and receive us graciously,(E)
    that we may offer the fruit of our lips.[b](F)
Assyria cannot save us;(G)
    we will not mount warhorses.(H)
We will never again say ‘Our gods’(I)
    to what our own hands have made,(J)
    for in you the fatherless(K) find compassion.”

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.
  2. Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls