A Plea for Repentance

14Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
   for you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
²Take words with you
   and return to the Lord;
say to him,
   ‘Take away all guilt;
accept that which is good,
   and we will offer
   the fruit^* of our lips.
³Assyria shall not save us;
   we will not ride upon horses;
we will say no more, “Our God”,
   to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.’

Assurance of Forgiveness

⁴I will heal their disloyalty;
   I will love them freely,
   for my anger has turned from them.
⁵I will be like the dew to Israel;
   he shall blossom like the lily,
   he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon.^*
6His shoots shall spread out;
   his beauty shall be like the olive tree,
   and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.
⁷They shall again live beneath my^* shadow,
   they shall flourish as a garden;^*
they shall blossom like the vine,
   their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸O Ephraim, what have I^* to do with idols?
   It is I who answer and look after you.^*
I am like an evergreen cypress;
   your faithfulness^* comes from me.
⁹Those who are wise understand these things;
   those who are discerning know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
   and the upright walk in them,
   but transgressors stumble in them.