Return, O Israel, 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 guilt;
accept that which is good,
    and we will offer
    the fruit of our lips.
3 Assyria shall not save us;
    we will not ride upon horses;
we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
    to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds mercy.”

4 I will heal their disloyalty;
    I will love them freely,
    for my anger has turned from them.
5 I will be like the dew to Israel;
    he shall blossom like the lily,
    he shall strike root like the forests of Lebanon.
6 His shoots shall spread out;
    his beauty shall be like the olive tree,
    and his fragrance like that of Lebanon.
7 They shall again live beneath my shadow,
    they shall flourish as a garden;
they shall blossom like the vine,
    their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
    It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like an evergreen cypress;
    your faithfulness comes from me.
9 Those who are wise understand these things;
    those who are discerning know them.
For the ways of the Lord are right,
    and the upright walk in them,
    but transgressors stumble in them.