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Take with you words
    and return to the Lord;
say to him,
    “Take away all iniquity;
accept that which is good
    and we will render
    the fruit[a] of our lips.
Assyria shall not save us,
    we will not ride upon horses;
and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
    to the work of our hands.
In thee the orphan finds mercy.”

Assurance of Forgiveness

I will heal their faithlessness;
    I will love them freely,
    for my anger has turned from them.
I will be as the dew to Israel;
    he shall blossom as the lily,
    he shall strike root as the poplar;[b]
his shoots shall spread out;
    his beauty shall be like the olive,
    and his fragrance like Lebanon.
They shall return and dwell beneath my[c] shadow,
    they shall flourish as a garden;[d]
they shall blossom as the vine,
    their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

O E′phraim, what have I to do with idols?
    It is I who answer and look after you.[e]
I am like an evergreen cypress,
    from me comes your fruit.

Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
    whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
    and the upright walk in them,
    but transgressors stumble in them.

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 14:2 Gk Syr: Heb bulls
  2. Hosea 14:5 Cn: Heb Lebanon
  3. Hosea 14:7 Heb his
  4. Hosea 14:7 Cn: Heb they shall grow grain
  5. Hosea 14:8 Heb him

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