Return to Yahweh
1 Return to Yahweh your God, O Israel,
for you have stumbled because of your sin.
2 Take words with you,
and return to Yahweh.
Say to him,
"Take away all guilt;
accept good, and we will offer
the fruitHebrew uncertain of our lips.
3 Assyria will not save us;
we will not ride on horses,Hebrew "horse"
and we will say no more, "Our God,"
to the work of our hands
because in you the fatherless child finds mercy.
4 I will heal their disloyalty;Or "backsliding"
I will love them freely
because my anger has turned back
from them.Hebrew "him"
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
he will blossom like the lily plant,
and he will strike his roots like the trees of Lebanon.
6 His new plant shoots will spread out;
his splendor will be like the olive tree,
and his scent like the trees of Lebanon.
7 They will again dwellLiterally "They shall return, they shall dwell" in myHebrew "his" shadow;
they will grow grain
and they will blossom like the plant vine;
his fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, what have I to doLiterally "what for me" with idols?
I myself have answered and looked after you.Hebrew "him"
I am like a luxuriant cypress;
your fruitOr "your faithfulness" comes from me.
9 Who is wise that he can understand these things?
Who is discerning that he knows them?
The ways of Yahweh are right,
and the righteous walk in them;
but transgressors stumble in them.