1Return, Israel, to the Lord your God, because your sins have brought you down.

²Take words like these with you and come back to the Lord, saying to him, “Please take away all our guilt, accept what is good, and we will repay you with praise from our lips.

³Assyria can't save us; we will not ride our warhorses; we will never again say, ‘You are our gods’ to the idols we have made. For in you orphans find mercy.”

⁴I will heal their unfaithfulness; I will love them freely, for I'm not angry with them any longer.

⁵I will be like the dew to Israel, they will blossom like lilies, they will send down roots like the cedars of Lebanon.

⁶They will send out new shoots, their splendor will be like the olive tree, and their scent will be like the cedars of Lebanon.

⁷Those who live under their shade willll return, they will flourish like grain, they will blossom like the vine, and they will be as famous as the wine of Lebanon.

⁸Ephraim, how much more do I have to warn you about idols? I have answered and now I am watching. I am like a tree that is evergreen; your fruit is found in me.

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