Hosea 14
English Standard Version
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.
2 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.
3 (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.”
4 I (I)will heal their apostasy;
(J)I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
5 (K)I will be like the dew to Israel;
(L)he shall blossom like the lily;
he shall take root like the trees (M)of Lebanon;
6 his shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be (N)like the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 They shall return and (O)dwell beneath my[b] shadow;
they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O (P)Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.[c]
I am like an evergreen cypress;
(Q)from me comes your fruit.
9 (R)Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
and (S)the upright walk in them,
(T)but transgressors stumble in them.
Footnotes
- Hosea 14:2 Septuagint, Syriac pay the fruit
- Hosea 14:7 Hebrew his
- Hosea 14:8 Hebrew him
Hosea 14
New Living Translation
Healing for the Repentant
14 [a]Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for your sins have brought you down.
2 Bring your confessions, and return to the Lord.
Say to him,
“Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us,
so that we may offer you our praises.[b]
3 Assyria cannot save us,
nor can our warhorses.
Never again will we say to the idols we have made,
‘You are our gods.’
No, in you alone
do the orphans find mercy.”
4 The Lord says,
“Then I will heal you of your faithlessness;
my love will know no bounds,
for my anger will be gone forever.
5 I will be to Israel
like a refreshing dew from heaven.
Israel will blossom like the lily;
it will send roots deep into the soil
like the cedars in Lebanon.
6 Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees,
as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon.
7 My people will again live under my shade.
They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines.
They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon.
8 “O Israel,[c] stay away from idols!
I am the one who answers your prayers and cares for you.
I am like a tree that is always green;
all your fruit comes from me.”
9 Let those who are wise understand these things.
Let those with discernment listen carefully.
The paths of the Lord are true and right,
and righteous people live by walking in them.
But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
