Hosea 1
- 1
- The word of the LORD which came to Hosea the son of Beeri, during the days
of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and during the days of
Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.
- 2
- When the LORD first spoke through Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea, "" Go,
take to yourself a wife of harlotry and have children of harlotry; for the
land commits flagrant harlotry, forsaking the LORD.''
- 3
- So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim, and she conceived and
bore him a son.
- 4
- And the LORD said to him, ""Name him Jezreel; for yet a little while, and
I will punish the house of Jehu for the bloodshed of Jezreel, and I will put
an end to the kingdom of the house of Israel.
- 5
- ""On that day I will break the bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.''
- 6
- Then she conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. And the LORD said
to him, ""Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the
house of Israel, that I would ever forgive them.
- 7
- ""But I will have compassion on the house of Judah and deliver them by the
LORD their God, and will not deliver them by bow, sword, battle, horses or
horsemen.''
- 8
- When she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived and gave birth to a son.
- 9
- And the LORD said, ""Name him Lo-ammi, for you are not My people and I am
not your God.''
- 10
- Yet the number of the sons of Israel Will be like the sand of the sea,
Which cannot be measured or numbered; And in the place Where it is said to
them, ""You are not My people,'' It will be said to them, ""You are the sons
of the living God.''
- 11
- And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together,
And they will appoint for themselves one leader, And they will go up from the
land, For great will be the day of Jezreel. 2
Hosea 2
- 1
- Say to your brothers, "" Ammi,'' and to your sisters, "" Ruhamah.''
- 2
- ""Contend with your mother, contend, For she is not my wife, and I am not
her husband; And let her put away her harlotry from her face And her adultery
from between her breasts,
- 3
- Or I will strip her naked And expose her as on the day when she was born.
I will also make her like a wilderness, Make her like desert land And slay her
with thirst.
- 4
- ""Also, I will have no compassion on her children, Because they are
children of harlotry.
- 5
- ""For their mother has played the harlot; She who conceived them has acted
shamefully. For she said, " I will go after my lovers, Who give me my bread
and my water, My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.'
- 6
- ""Therefore, behold, I will hedge up her way with thorns, And I will build
a wall against her so that she cannot find her paths.
- 7
- ""She will pursue her lovers, but she will not overtake them; And she will
seek them, but will not find them. Then she will say, " I will go back to my
first husband, For it was better for me then than now!'
- 8
- ""For she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine
and the oil, And lavished on her silver and gold, Which they used for Baal.
- 9
- ""Therefore, I will take back My grain at harvest time And My new wine in
its season. I will also take away My wool and My flax Given to cover her
nakedness.
- 10
- ""And then I will uncover her lewdness In the sight of her lovers, And no
one will rescue her out of My hand.
- 11
- ""I will also put an end to all her gaiety, Her feasts, her new moons, her
sabbaths And all her festal assemblies.
- 12
- ""I will destroy her vines and fig trees, Of which she said, "These are my
wages Which my lovers have given me.' And I will make them a forest, And the
beasts of the field will devour them.
- 13
- ""I will punish her for the days of the Baals When she used to offer
sacrifices to them And adorn herself with her earrings and jewelry, And follow
her lovers, so that she forgot Me,'' declares the LORD.
- 14
- ""Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Bring her into the wilderness And
speak kindly to her.
- 15
- ""Then I will give her her vineyards from there, And the valley of Achor
as a door of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, As in
the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
- 16
- ""It will come about in that day,'' declares the LORD, ""That you will
call Me Ishi And will no longer call Me Baali.
- 17
- ""For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, So that they
will be mentioned by their names no more.
- 18
- ""In that day I will also make a covenant for them With the beasts of the
field, The birds of the sky And the creeping things of the ground. And I will
abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land, And will make them lie down
in safety.
- 19
- ""I will betroth you to Me forever; Yes, I will betroth you to Me in
righteousness and in justice, In lovingkindness and in compassion,
- 20
- And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the LORD.
- 21
- ""It will come about in that day that I will respond,'' declares the LORD.
""I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth,
- 22
- And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and to the oil,
And they will respond to Jezreel.
- 23
- ""I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on
her who had not obtained compassion, And I will say to those who were not My
people, "You are My people!' And they will say, "You are my God!'''
3
Hosea 3
- 1
- Then the LORD said to me, ""Go again, love a woman who is loved by her
husband, yet an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though
they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.''
- 2
- So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver and a homer and a
half of barley.
- 3
- Then I said to her, ""You shall stay with me for many days. You shall not
play the harlot, nor shall you have a man; so I will also be toward you.''
- 4
- For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince,
without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols.
- 5
- Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and
David their king; and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness
in the last days. 4
Hosea 4
- 1
- Listen to the word of the LORD, O sons of Israel, For the LORD has a case
against the inhabitants of the land, Because there is no faithfulness or
kindness Or knowledge of God in the land.
- 2
- There is swearing, deception, murder, stealing and adultery. They employ
violence, so that bloodshed follows bloodshed.
- 3
- Therefore the land mourns, And everyone who lives in it languishes Along
with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky, And also the fish of
the sea disappear.
- 4
- Yet let no one find fault, and let none offer reproof; For your people are
like those who contend with the priest.
- 5
- So you will stumble by day, And the prophet also will stumble with you by
night; And I will destroy your mother.
- 6
- My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected
knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have
forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
- 7
- The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; I will change
their glory into shame.
- 8
- They feed on the sin of My people And direct their desire toward their
iniquity.
- 9
- And it will be, like people, like priest; So I will punish them for their
ways And repay them for their deeds.
- 10
- They will eat, but not have enough; They will play the harlot, but not
increase, Because they have stopped giving heed to the LORD.
- 11
- Harlotry, wine and new wine take away the understanding.
- 12
- My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner's wand informs
them; For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray, And they have played the
harlot, departing from their God.
- 13
- They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains And burn incense on the
hills, Under oak, poplar and terebinth, Because their shade is pleasant.
Therefore your daughters play the harlot And your brides commit adultery.
- 14
- I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot Or your brides
when they commit adultery, For the men themselves go apart with harlots And
offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes; So the people without understanding
are ruined.
- 15
- Though you, Israel, play the harlot, Do not let Judah become guilty; Also
do not go to Gilgal, Or go up to Beth-aven And take the oath: ""As the LORD
lives!''
- 16
- Since Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn heifer, Can the LORD now pasture
them Like a lamb in a large field?
- 17
- Ephraim is joined to idols; Let him alone.
- 18
- Their liquor gone, They play the harlot continually; Their rulers dearly
love shame.
- 19
- The wind wraps them in its wings, And they will be ashamed because of
their sacrifices. 5
Hosea 5
- 1
- Hear this, O priests! Give heed, O house of Israel! Listen, O house of the
king! For the judgment applies to you, For you have been a snare at Mizpah And
a net spread out on Tabor.
- 2
- The revolters have gone deep in depravity, But I will chastise all of
them.
- 3
- I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me; For now, O Ephraim, you
have played the harlot, Israel has defiled itself.
- 4
- Their deeds will not allow them To return to their God. For a spirit of
harlotry is within them, And they do not know the LORD.
- 5
- Moreover, the pride of Israel testifies against him, And Israel and
Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; Judah also has stumbled with them.
- 6
- They will go with their flocks and herds To seek the LORD, but they will
not find Him; He has withdrawn from them.
- 7
- They have dealt treacherously against the LORD, For they have borne
illegitimate children. Now the new moon will devour them with their land.
- 8
- Blow the horn in Gibeah, The trumpet in Ramah. Sound an alarm at
Beth-aven: "" Behind you, Benjamin!''
- 9
- Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke; Among the tribes of
Israel I declare what is sure.
- 10
- The princes of Judah have become like those who move a boundary; On them I
will pour out My wrath like water.
- 11
- Ephraim is oppressed, crushed in judgment, Because he was determined to
follow man's command.
- 12
- Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim And like rottenness to the house of
Judah.
- 13
- When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah his wound, Then Ephraim went to
Assyria And sent to King Jareb. But he is unable to heal you, Or to cure you
of your wound.
- 14
- For I will be like a lion to Ephraim And like a young lion to the house of
Judah. I, even I, will tear to pieces and go away, I will carry away, and
there will be none to deliver.
- 15
- I will go away and return to My place Until they acknowledge their guilt
and seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.
6
Hosea 6
- 1
- ""Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal
us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.
- 2
- ""He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day,
That we may live before Him.
- 3
- ""So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as
certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring
rain watering the earth.''
- 4
- What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah?
For your loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away
early.
- 5
- Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by
the words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that goes
forth.
- 6
- For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of
God rather than burnt offerings.
- 7
- But like Adam they have transgressed the covenant; There they have dealt
treacherously against Me.
- 8
- Gilead is a city of wrongdoers, Tracked with bloody footprints.
- 9
- And as raiders wait for a man, So a band of priests murder on the way to
Shechem; Surely they have committed crime.
- 10
- In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim's harlotry is
there, Israel has defiled itself.
- 11
- Also, O Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you, When I restore the
fortunes of My people. 7
Hosea 7
- 1
- When I would heal Israel, The iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered, And the
evil deeds of Samaria, For they deal falsely; The thief enters in, Bandits
raid outside,
- 2
- And they do not consider in their hearts That I remember all their
wickedness. Now their deeds are all around them; They are before My face.
- 3
- With their wickedness they make the king glad, And the princes with their
lies.
- 4
- They are all adulterers, Like an oven heated by the baker Who ceases to
stir up the fire From the kneading of the dough until it is leavened.
- 5
- On the day of our king, the princes became sick with the heat of wine; He
stretched out his hand with scoffers,
- 6
- For their hearts are like an oven As they approach their plotting; Their
anger smolders all night, In the morning it burns like a flaming fire.
- 7
- All of them are hot like an oven, And they consume their rulers; All their
kings have fallen. None of them calls on Me.
- 8
- Ephraim mixes himself with the nations; Ephraim has become a cake not
turned.
- 9
- Strangers devour his strength, Yet he does not know it; Gray hairs also
are sprinkled on him, Yet he does not know it.
- 10
- Though the pride of Israel testifies against him, Yet they have not
returned to the LORD their God, Nor have they sought Him, for all this.
- 11
- So Ephraim has become like a silly dove, without sense; They call to
Egypt, they go to Assyria.
- 12
- When they go, I will spread My net over them; I will bring them down like
the birds of the sky. I will chastise them in accordance with the proclamation
to their assembly.
- 13
- Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction is theirs, for
they have rebelled against Me! I would redeem them, but they speak lies
against Me.
- 14
- And they do not cry to Me from their heart When they wail on their beds;
For the sake of grain and new wine they assemble themselves, They turn away
from Me.
- 15
- Although I trained and strengthened their arms, Yet they devise evil
against Me.
- 16
- They turn, but not upward, They are like a deceitful bow; Their princes
will fall by the sword Because of the insolence of their tongue. This will be
their derision in the land of Egypt. 8
Hosea 8
- 1
- Put the trumpet to your lips! Like an eagle the enemy comes against the
house of the LORD, Because they have transgressed My covenant And rebelled
against My law.
- 2
- They cry out to Me, ""My God, we of Israel know You!''
- 3
- Israel has rejected the good; The enemy will pursue him.
- 4
- They have set up kings, but not by Me; They have appointed princes, but I
did not know it. With their silver and gold they have made idols for
themselves, That they might be cut off.
- 5
- He has rejected your calf, O Samaria, saying, ""My anger burns against
them!'' How long will they be incapable of innocence?
- 6
- For from Israel is even this! A craftsman made it, so it is not God;
Surely the calf of Samaria will be broken to pieces.
- 7
- For they sow the wind And they reap the whirlwind. The standing grain has
no heads; It yields no grain. Should it yield, strangers would swallow it up.
- 8
- Israel is swallowed up; They are now among the nations Like a vessel in
which no one delights.
- 9
- For they have gone up to Assyria, Like a wild donkey all alone; Ephraim
has hired lovers.
- 10
- Even though they hire allies among the nations, Now I will gather them up;
And they will begin to diminish Because of the burden of the king of princes.
- 11
- Since Ephraim has multiplied altars for sin, They have become altars of
sinning for him.
- 12
- Though I wrote for him ten thousand precepts of My law, They are regarded
as a strange thing.
- 13
- As for My sacrificial gifts, They sacrifice the flesh and eat it, But the
LORD has taken no delight in them. Now He will remember their iniquity, And
punish them for their sins; They will return to Egypt.
- 14
- For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; And Judah has
multiplied fortified cities, But I will send a fire on its cities that it may
consume its palatial dwellings. 9
Hosea 9
- 1
- Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation like the nations! For you have
played the harlot, forsaking your God. You have loved harlots' earnings on
every threshing floor.
- 2
- Threshing floor and wine press will not feed them, And the new wine will
fail them.
- 3
- They will not remain in the LORD'S land, But Ephraim will return to Egypt,
And in Assyria they will eat unclean food.
- 4
- They will not pour out drink offerings of wine to the LORD, Their
sacrifices will not please Him. Their bread will be like mourners' bread; All
who eat of it will be defiled, For their bread will be for themselves alone;
It will not enter the house of the LORD.
- 5
- What will you do on the day of the appointed festival And on the day of
the feast of the LORD?
- 6
- For behold, they will go because of destruction; Egypt will gather them
up, Memphis will bury them. Weeds will take over their treasures of silver;
Thorns will be in their tents.
- 7
- The days of punishment have come, The days of retribution have come; Let
Israel know this! The prophet is a fool, The inspired man is demented, Because
of the grossness of your iniquity, And because your hostility is so great.
- 8
- Ephraim was a watchman with my God, a prophet; Yet the snare of a bird
catcher is in all his ways, And there is only hostility in the house of his
God.
- 9
- They have gone deep in depravity As in the days of Gibeah; He will
remember their iniquity, He will punish their sins.
- 10
- I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your forefathers as
the earliest fruit on the fig tree in its first season. But they came to
Baal-peor and devoted themselves to shame, And they became as detestable as
that which they loved.
- 11
- As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird No birth, no
pregnancy and no conception!
- 12
- Though they bring up their children, Yet I will bereave them until not a
man is left. Yes, woe to them indeed when I depart from them!
- 13
- Ephraim, as I have seen, Is planted in a pleasant meadow like Tyre; But
Ephraim will bring out his children for slaughter.
- 14
- Give them, O LORDwhat will You give? Give them a miscarrying womb and dry
breasts.
- 15
- All their evil is at Gilgal; Indeed, I came to hate them there! Because of
the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of My house! I will love
them no more; All their princes are rebels.
- 16
- Ephraim is stricken, their root is dried up, They will bear no fruit. Even
though they bear children, I will slay the precious ones of their womb.
- 17
- My God will cast them away Because they have not listened to Him; And they
will be wanderers among the nations. 10
Hosea 10
- 1
- Israel is a luxuriant vine; He produces fruit for himself. The more his
fruit, The more altars he made; The richer his land, The better he made the
sacred pillars.
- 2
- Their heart is faithless; Now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will
break down their altars And destroy their sacred pillars.
- 3
- Surely now they will say, ""We have no king, For we do not revere the
LORD. As for the king, what can he do for us?''
- 4
- They speak mere words, With worthless oaths they make covenants; And
judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
- 5
- The inhabitants of Samaria will fear For the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed,
its people will mourn for it, And its idolatrous priests will cry out over it,
Over its glory, since it has departed from it.
- 6
- The thing itself will be carried to Assyria As tribute to King Jareb;
Ephraim will be seized with shame And Israel will be ashamed of its own
counsel.
- 7
- Samaria will be cut off with her king Like a stick on the surface of the
water.
- 8
- Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed; Thorn
and thistle will grow on their altars; Then they will say to the mountains,
""Cover us!'' And to the hills, ""Fall on us!''
- 9
- From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel; There they stand! Will
not the battle against the sons of iniquity overtake them in Gibeah?
- 10
- When it is My desire, I will chastise them; And the peoples will be
gathered against them When they are bound for their double guilt.
- 11
- Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh, But I will come over her
fair neck with a yoke; I will harness Ephraim, Judah will plow, Jacob will
harrow for himself.
- 12
- Sow with a view to righteousness, Reap in accordance with kindness; Break
up your fallow ground, For it is time to seek the LORD Until He comes to rain
righteousness on you.
- 13
- You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, You have eaten the
fruit of lies. Because you have trusted in your way, in your numerous
warriors,
- 14
- Therefore a tumult will arise among your people, And all your fortresses
will be destroyed, As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle, When
mothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
- 15
- Thus it will be done to you at Bethel because of your great wickedness. At
dawn the king of Israel will be completely cut off. 11
Hosea
11
- 1
- When Israel was a youth I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.
- 2
- The more they called them, The more they went from them; They kept
sacrificing to the Baals And burning incense to idols.
- 3
- Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk, I took them in My arms; But they
did not know that I healed them.
- 4
- I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love, And I became to them
as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws; And I bent down and fed them.
- 5
- They will not return to the land of Egypt; But Assyriahe will be their
king Because they refused to return to Me.
- 6
- The sword will whirl against their cities, And will demolish their gate
bars And consume them because of their counsels.
- 7
- So My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call them to the One
on high, None at all exalts Him.
- 8
- How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I surrender you, O Israel? How
can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is
turned over within Me, All My compassions are kindled.
- 9
- I will not execute My fierce anger; I will not destroy Ephraim again. For
I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst, And I will not come in
wrath.
- 10
- They will walk after the LORD, He will roar like a lion; Indeed He will
roar And His sons will come trembling from the west.
- 11
- They will come trembling like birds from Egypt And like doves from the
land of Assyria; And I will settle them in their houses, declares the LORD.
- 12
- Ephraim surrounds Me with lies And the house of Israel with deceit; Judah
is also unruly against God, Even against the Holy One who is faithful.
12
Hosea 12
- 1
- Ephraim feeds on wind, And pursues the east wind continually; He
multiplies lies and violence. Moreover, he makes a covenant with Assyria, And
oil is carried to Egypt.
- 2
- The LORD also has a dispute with Judah, And will punish Jacob according to
his ways; He will repay him according to his deeds.
- 3
- In the womb he took his brother by the heel, And in his maturity he
contended with God.
- 4
- Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed; He wept and sought His
favor. He found Him at Bethel And there He spoke with us,
- 5
- Even the LORD, the God of hosts, The LORD is His name.
- 6
- Therefore, return to your God, Observe kindness and justice, And wait for
your God continually.
- 7
- A merchant, in whose hands are false balances, He loves to oppress.
- 8
- And Ephraim said, ""Surely I have become rich, I have found wealth for
myself; In all my labors they will find in me No iniquity, which would be
sin.''
- 9
- But I have been the LORD your God since the land of Egypt; I will make you
live in tents again, As in the days of the appointed festival.
- 10
- I have also spoken to the prophets, And I gave numerous visions, And
through the prophets I gave parables.
- 11
- Is there iniquity in Gilead? Surely they are worthless. In Gilgal they
sacrifice bulls, Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps Beside the furrows
of the field.
- 12
- Now Jacob fled to the land of Aram, And Israel worked for a wife, And for
a wife he kept sheep.
- 13
- But by a prophet the LORD brought Israel from Egypt, And by a prophet he
was kept.
- 14
- Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger; So his Lord will leave his
bloodguilt on him And bring back his reproach to him. 13
Hosea
13
- 1
- When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling. He exalted himself in Israel, But
through Baal he did wrong and died.
- 2
- And now they sin more and more, And make for themselves molten images,
Idols skillfully made from their silver, All of them the work of craftsmen.
They say of them, ""Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!''
- 3
- Therefore they will be like the morning cloud And like dew which soon
disappears, Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor And like
smoke from a chimney.
- 4
- Yet I have been the LORD your God Since the land of Egypt; And you were
not to know any god except Me, For there is no savior besides Me.
- 5
- I cared for you in the wilderness, In the land of drought.
- 6
- As they had their pasture, they became satisfied, And being satisfied,
their heart became proud; Therefore they forgot Me.
- 7
- So I will be like a lion to them; Like a leopard I will lie in wait by the
wayside.
- 8
- I will encounter them like a bear robbed of her cubs, And I will tear open
their chests; There I will also devour them like a lioness, As a wild beast
would tear them.
- 9
- It is your destruction, O Israel, That you are against Me, against your
help.
- 10
- Where now is your king That he may save you in all your cities, And your
judges of whom you requested, ""Give me a king and princes''?
- 11
- I gave you a king in My anger And took him away in My wrath.
- 12
- The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; His sin is stored up.
- 13
- The pains of childbirth come upon him; He is not a wise son, For it is not
the time that he should delay at the opening of the womb.
- 14
- Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from
death? O Death, where are your thorns? O Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion will be hidden from My sight.
- 15
- Though he flourishes among the reeds, An east wind will come, The wind of
the LORD coming up from the wilderness; And his fountain will become dry And
his spring will be dried up; It will plunder his treasury of every precious
article.
- 16
- Samaria will be held guilty, For she has rebelled against her God. They
will fall by the sword, Their little ones will be dashed in pieces, And their
pregnant women will be ripped open. 14
Hosea 14
- 1
- Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, For you have stumbled because of
your iniquity.
- 2
- Take words with you and return to the LORD. Say to Him, "" Take away all
iniquity And receive us graciously, That we may present the fruit of our lips.
- 3
- ""Assyria will not save us, We will not ride on horses; Nor will we say
again, " Our god,' To the work of our hands; For in You the orphan finds
mercy.''
- 4
- I will heal their apostasy, I will love them freely, For My anger has
turned away from them.
- 5
- I will be like the dew to Israel; He will blossom like the lily, And he
will take root like the cedars of Lebanon.
- 6
- His shoots will sprout, And his beauty will be like the olive tree And his
fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.
- 7
- Those who live in his shadow Will again raise grain, And they will blossom
like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
- 8
- O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols? It is I who answer and look
after you. I am like a luxuriant cypress; From Me comes your fruit.
- 9
- Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; Whoever is discerning,
let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, And the righteous will
walk in them, But transgressors will stumble in them.