Hosea 14
International Children’s Bible
Israel Returns to God
14 Israel, return to the Lord your God.
Your sins have caused your ruin.
2 Come back to the Lord
and say these words to him:
“Take away all our sin
and kindly receive us.
Then we will give you the praise we promised you.
3 Assyria cannot save us.
We will not trust in our horses.
We will not say again, ‘Our gods,’
to the things our hands have made.
You show mercy to us, who are like orphans.”
4 The Lord says,
“I will forgive them for leaving me.
I will love them freely.
I am not angry with them anymore.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel.
It will blossom like a lily.
Like the cedar trees in Lebanon,
its roots will be firm.
6 The people will be like spreading branches.
They will be like the beautiful olive trees.
They will be like the sweet-smelling cedars in Lebanon.
7 The people of Israel will again live under my protection.
They will grow like the grain.
They will bloom like a vine.
They will be as famous as the wine of Lebanon.
8 Israel, have nothing to do with idols.
I, the Lord, am the one who answers your prayers.
I am the one who watches over you.
I am like a green pine tree.
Your blessings come from me.”
9 A wise person will know these things.
An understanding person will take them to heart.
The Lord’s ways are right.
Good people live by following them,
but those who turn against God die because of them.
Hosea 14
English Standard Version
A Plea to Return to the Lord
14 (A)Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for (B)you have stumbled because of your iniquity.
2 Take with you words
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
“Take away all iniquity;
accept (C)what is good,
and we will pay with bulls
(D)the vows[a] of our lips.
3 (E)Assyria shall not save us;
(F)we will not ride on horses;
and (G)we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
(H)In you the orphan finds mercy.”
4 I (I)will heal their apostasy;
(J)I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
5 (K)I will be like the dew to Israel;
(L)he shall blossom like the lily;
he shall take root like the trees (M)of Lebanon;
6 his shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be (N)like the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 They shall return and (O)dwell beneath my[b] shadow;
they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O (P)Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.[c]
I am like an evergreen cypress;
(Q)from me comes your fruit.
9 (R)Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
and (S)the upright walk in them,
(T)but transgressors stumble in them.
Footnotes
- Hosea 14:2 Septuagint, Syriac pay the fruit
- Hosea 14:7 Hebrew his
- Hosea 14:8 Hebrew him
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
