Hosea 14
New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition

A Plea for Repentance

1Return, 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[a] 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.[b]
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[c] shadow,
    they shall flourish as a garden;[d]
they shall blossom like the vine,
    their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

8O Ephraim, what have I[e] to do with idols?
    It is I who answer and look after you.[f]
I am like an evergreen cypress;
    your faithfulness[g] 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.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 14:2 Gk Syr: Heb bulls
  2. Hosea 14:5 Cn: Heb like Lebanon
  3. Hosea 14:7 Heb his
  4. Hosea 14:7 Cn: Heb they shall grow grain
  5. Hosea 14:8 Or What more has Ephraim
  6. Hosea 14:8 Heb him
  7. Hosea 14:8 Heb your fruit
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.





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