Hosea 14

New King James Version

Israel Restored at Last

14 O Israel, ^(A)return 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 iniquity;
Receive us graciously,
For we will offer the ^(B)sacrifices^[a] of our lips.
³Assyria shall ^(C)not save us,
^(D)We will not ride on horses,
Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’
^(E)For in You the fatherless finds mercy.”

⁴“I will heal their ^(F)backsliding,
I will ^(G)love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from him.
⁵I will be like the ^(H)dew to Israel;
He shall ^[b]grow like the lily,
And ^[c]lengthen his roots like Lebanon.
⁶His branches shall ^[d]spread;
^(I)His beauty shall be like an olive tree,
And ^(J)his fragrance like Lebanon.
⁷^(K)Those who dwell under his shadow shall return;
They shall be revived like grain,
And ^[e]grow like a vine.
Their ^[f]scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

⁸“Ephraim shall say, ‘What have I to do anymore with idols?’
I have heard and observed him.
I am like a green cypress tree;
^(L)Your fruit is found in Me.”

⁹Who is wise?
Let him understand these things.
Who is prudent?
Let him know them.
For ^(M)the ways of the Lord are right;
The righteous walk in them,
But transgressors stumble in them.