1. Return, O Israel, to the lord your God,for your sins have brought you down.
2. Bring your confessions, and return to the lord.Say to him,“Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us,so that we may offer you our praises.
3. Assyria cannot save us,nor can our warhorses.Never again will we say to the idols we have made,‘You are our gods.’No, in you alonedo the orphans find mercy.”
4. The lord says,“Then I will heal you of your faithlessness;my love will know no bounds,for my anger will be gone forever.
5. I will be to Israellike a refreshing dew from heaven.Israel will blossom like the lily;it will send roots deep into the soillike the cedars in Lebanon.