1O Israel, return unto Jehovah thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity. 2Take with you words, and return unto Jehovah : say unto him , Take away all iniquity , and accept that which is good: so will we render as bullocks the offering of our lips. 3Assyria shall not save us ; we will not ride upon horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods; for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy .
God's Promise of Restoration
4I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from him . 5I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. 6His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his smell as Lebanon . 7They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall revive as the grain, and blossom as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon .
The Call to Acknowledge God
8Ephraim shall 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. 9Who is wise, that he may understand these things? prudent, that he may know them ? for the ways of Jehovah are right, and the just shall walk in them ; but transgressors shall fall therein.