Ever since the time of your ancestors you have turned away(A) from my decrees and have not kept them. Return(B) to me, and I will return to you,”(C) says the Lord Almighty.

“But you ask,(D) ‘How are we to return?’

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Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return(A) to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’(B) says the Lord Almighty.

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21 But concerning Israel he says,

“All day long I have held out my hands
    to a disobedient and obstinate people.”[a](A)

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Footnotes

  1. Romans 10:21 Isaiah 65:2

20 When I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, the land I promised on oath to their ancestors,(A) and when they eat their fill and thrive, they will turn to other gods(B) and worship them,(C) rejecting me and breaking my covenant.(D)

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Come near to God and he will come near to you.(A) Wash your hands,(B) you sinners, and purify your hearts,(C) you double-minded.(D)

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Since they did not know the righteousness of God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God’s righteousness.(A)

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Repentance to Bring Blessing

14 [a]Return,(A) Israel, to the Lord your God.
    Your sins(B) have been your downfall!(C)

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.

12 Go, proclaim this message toward the north:(A)

“‘Return,(B) faithless(C) Israel,’ declares the Lord,
    ‘I will frown on you no longer,
for I am faithful,’(D) declares the Lord,
    ‘I will not be angry(E) forever.
13 Only acknowledge(F) your guilt—
    you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods(G)
    under every spreading tree,(H)
    and have not obeyed(I) me,’”
declares the Lord.

14 “Return,(J) faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband.(K) I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.

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Seek(A) the Lord while he may be found;(B)
    call(C) on him while he is near.
Let the wicked forsake(D) their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.(E)
Let them turn(F) to the Lord, and he will have mercy(G) on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.(H)

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28 “But as soon as they were at rest, they again did what was evil in your sight.(A) Then you abandoned them to the hand of their enemies so that they ruled over them. And when they cried out to you again, you heard from heaven, and in your compassion(B) you delivered them(C) time after time.

29 “You warned(D) them in order to turn them back to your law, but they became arrogant(E) and disobeyed your commands. They sinned against your ordinances, of which you said, ‘The person who obeys them will live by them.’(F) Stubbornly they turned their backs(G) on you, became stiff-necked(H) and refused to listen.(I) 30 For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets.(J) Yet they paid no attention, so you gave them into the hands of the neighboring peoples.(K)

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40 “‘But if they will confess(A) their sins(B) and the sins of their ancestors(C)—their unfaithfulness and their hostility toward me, 41 which made me hostile(D) toward them so that I sent them into the land of their enemies—then when their uncircumcised hearts(E) are humbled(F) and they pay(G) for their sin, 42 I will remember my covenant with Jacob(H) and my covenant with Isaac(I) and my covenant with Abraham,(J) and I will remember the land.

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16 He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

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22 “Return,(A) faithless people;
    I will cure(B) you of backsliding.”(C)

“Yes, we will come to you,
    for you are the Lord our God.

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29 But if from there you seek(A) the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart(B) and with all your soul.(C) 30 When you are in distress(D) and all these things have happened to you, then in later days(E) you will return(F) to the Lord your God and obey him. 31 For the Lord your God is a merciful(G) God; he will not abandon(H) or destroy(I) you or forget(J) the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

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48 So you testify that you approve of what your ancestors did; they killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.(A) 49 Because of this, God in his wisdom(B) said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and others they will persecute.’(C) 50 Therefore this generation will be held responsible for the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the beginning of the world, 51 from the blood of Abel(D) to the blood of Zechariah,(E) who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, this generation will be held responsible for it all.(F)

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27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs,(A) which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.

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Breaking Covenant Through Blemished Sacrifices

“A son honors his father,(A) and a slave his master.(B) If I am a father, where is the honor due me? If I am a master, where is the respect(C) due me?” says the Lord Almighty.(D)

“It is you priests who show contempt for my name.

“But you ask,(E) ‘How have we shown contempt for your name?’

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28 When I brought them into the land(A) I had sworn to give them and they saw any high hill or any leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, made offerings that aroused my anger, presented their fragrant incense and poured out their drink offerings.(B)

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21 “‘But the children rebelled against me: They did not follow my decrees, they were not careful to keep my laws,(A) of which I said, “The person who obeys them will live by them,” and they desecrated my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger(B) against them in the wilderness.(C)

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13 “‘Yet the people of Israel rebelled(A) against me in the wilderness. They did not follow my decrees but rejected my laws(B)—by which the person who obeys them will live—and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths.(C) So I said I would pour out my wrath(D) on them and destroy(E) them in the wilderness.(F)

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“‘But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me;(A) they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.(B) So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in Egypt.(C)

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30 “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent!(A) Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.(B) 31 Rid(C) yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart(D) and a new spirit. Why(E) will you die, people of Israel?(F) 32 For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent(G) and live!(H)

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All day long I have held out my hands
    to an obstinate people,(A)
who walk in ways not good,
    pursuing their own imaginations(B)

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They would not be like their ancestors(A)
    a stubborn(B) and rebellious(C) generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
    whose spirits were not faithful to him.

The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,(D)
    turned back on the day of battle;(E)
10 they did not keep God’s covenant(F)
    and refused to live by his law.(G)

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26 “But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law.(A) They killed(B) your prophets,(C) who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies.(D)

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