1 O ISRAEL, return unto theLordthy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
2 Take with you words, and return unto theLord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and accept that which is good: so will we renderasbullocksthe offering ofour lips.
3 Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands,Ye areour gods: for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him..
5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
6 His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
7 They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall reviveasthe corn, and blossom as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
8 Ephraimshall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have answered, and will regard him: I am like a green fir tree; from me is thy fruit found.
9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of theLordare right, mad the just shall walk in them; but transgressors shall fall therein.