Israel Restored at Last

14 O Israel, return to the Lord your God,For you have stumbled because of your iniquity;² Take words with you,And return to the Lord.Say to Him,“Take away all iniquity;Receive us graciously,For we will offer the sacrifices^[a] of our lips.³ Assyria shall not save us,We will not ride on horses,Nor will we say anymore to the work of our hands, ‘You are our gods.’For in You the fatherless finds mercy.”

⁴ “I will heal their backsliding,I will love them freely,For My anger has turned away from him.⁵ I will be like the dew to Israel;He shall grow like the lily,And lengthen his roots like Lebanon.⁶ His branches shall spread;His beauty shall be like an olive tree,And his fragrance like Lebanon.⁷ Those who dwell under his shadow shall return;They shall be revived like grain,And grow like a vine.Their scent^[b] 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;Your fruit is found in Me.”

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