[1] O ISRAEL, return unto the Lord thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
[2] Take with you words, and turn to the Lord: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the calves of our 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 are our 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 grow 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 revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
[8] Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I have heard him, and observed 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 the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.