1: O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast
fallen by thine iniquity. |
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2: Take with you words, and turn to the LORD: say unto him, Take
away all iniquity, and receive us graciously: so will we render the
calves of our lips. |
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3:
Asshur shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses:
neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, Ye are our gods:
for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy. |
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4: I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for
mine anger is turned away from him. |
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5: I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow as the lily,
and cast forth his roots as Lebanon. |
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6: His branches shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the
olive tree, and his smell as Lebanon. |
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7: They that dwell under his shadow shall return; they shall
revive as the corn, and grow as the vine: the scent thereof shall be as
the wine of Lebanon. |
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8: Ephraim shall say, What have I to do any more with idols? I
have heard him, and observed him: I am like a green fir tree. From me is
thy fruit found. |
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9: Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent,
and he shall know them? for the ways of the LORD are right, and the just
shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein. |