Thus says the Lord:/ Return, O Israel, to the Lord, your God;/ you have collapsed through your guilt./ Take with you words,/ and return to the Lord;/ Say to him, “Forgive all iniquity,/ and receive what is good, that we may render/ as offerings the bullocks from our stalls./ Assyria will not save us,/ nor shall we have horses to mount;/ We shall say no more, ‘Our god,’/ to the work of our hands;/ for in you the orphan finds compassion.”/ I will heal their defection, says the Lord,/ I will love them freely;/ for my wrath is turned away from them./ I will be like the dew for Israel:/ he shall blossom like the lily;/ He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar,/ and put forth his shoots./ His splendor shall be like the olive tree/ and his fragrance like the Lebanon cedar./ Again they shall dwell in his shade/ and raise grain;/ They shall blossom like the vine,/ and his fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

Thus says the Lord:/ When Israel was a child I loved him,/ out of Egypt I called my son./ The more I called them,/ the farther they went from me,/ Sacrificing to the Baals/ and burning incense to idols./ Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk,/ who took them in my arms;/ I drew them with human cords,/ with bands of love;/ I fostered them like one/ who raises an infant to his cheeks;/ Yet, though I stooped to feed my child,/ they did not know that I was their healer.

Israel is a luxuriant vine/ whose fruit matches its growth./ The more abundant his fruit,/ the more altars he built;/ The more productive his land,/ the more sacred pillars he set up./ Their heart is false,/ now they pay for their guilt;/ God shall break down their altars/ and destroy their sacred pillars./ If they would say,/ “We have no king”—/ Since they do not fear the Lord,/ what can the king do for them?