Hosea 14:4-8

New International Reader's Version

“My people always wander away from me.
    But I will put an end to that.
My anger has turned away from them.
    Now I will love them freely.
⁵ I will be like the dew to Israel.
    They will bloom like a lily.
They will send their roots down deep
    like a cedar tree in Lebanon.
⁶ They will spread out like new branches.
    They will be as beautiful as an olive tree.
    They will smell as sweet as the cedar trees in Lebanon.
⁷ Once again my people will live
    in the safety of my shade.
    They will grow like grain.
They will bloom like vines.
    And Israel will be as famous
    as wine from Lebanon.
⁸ Ephraim will have nothing more to do with other gods.
    I will answer the prayers of my people.
    I will take good care of them.
I will be like a healthy juniper tree to them.
    All the fruit they bear will come from me.”