A Call for Repentance

Hosea 14:2–10

Biblical Period

2Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
For you have fallen because of your sin.
3Take words with you
And return to the Lord.
Say to Him:
“Forgive all guilt
And accept what is good;
Instead of bulls we will pay
[The offering of] our lips.
4Assyria shall not save us,
No more will we ride on steeds;a
Nor ever again will we call
Our handiwork our god,
Since in You alone orphans find pity!”
5I will heal their affliction,
Generously will I take them back in love;
For My anger has turned away from them.
6I will be to Israel like dew;
He shall blossom like the lily,
He shall strike root like a Lebanon tree.
7His boughs shall spread out far,
His beauty shall be like the olive tree’s,
His fragrance like that of Lebanon.
8They who sit in his shade shall be revived:
They shall bring to life new grain,
They shall blossom like the vine;
His scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon
9Ephraim [shall say]:
“What more have I to do with idols?
When I respond and look to Him,
I become like a verdant cypress.”
Your fruit is provided by Me.
10He who is wise will consider these words,
He who is prudent will take note of them.
For the paths of the Lord are smooth;
The righteous can walk on them,
While sinners stumble on them.

Notes

I.e., we will no longer depend on an alliance with Egypt.

Credits

Reprinted from Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures by permission of the University of Nebraska Press. Copyright 1985 by the Jewish Publication Society, Philadelphia.

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 1.

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Hosea Calls for Israel’s Repentance

The prophet Hosea chastises Israel for its religious and social offenses and warns of impending destruction.

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