2. Take with you wordsand return to the Lord;say to him,“Take away all iniquity;accept what is good,and we will pay with bulls the vows of our lips.
3. Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride on horses;and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’to the work of our hands. In you the orphan finds mercy.”
4. I will heal their apostasy; 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 take root like the trees of Lebanon;
6. his shoots shall spread out;his beauty shall be like the olive,and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow;they shall flourish like the grain;they shall blossom like the vine;their fame 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; from me comes your fruit.