The Darby Translation DBY
GOD'S WORD Translation GW
1 O Israel, return unto Jehovah thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
1 Israel, return to the LORD your God. You have stumbled because of your sins.
2 Take with you words, and turn to Jehovah; say unto him, Forgive all iniquity, and receive [us] graciously; so will we render the calves of our lips.
2 Return to the LORD, and say these things to him: "Forgive all our sins, and kindly receive us. Then we'll praise you with our lips.
3 Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses: neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, [Thou art] our God; because in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.
3 Assyria cannot save us. We won't ride on horses anymore. We will never again say that the things our hands have made are our gods. You love orphans."
4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from him.
4 [The LORD says,] "I will cure them of their unfaithfulness. I will love them freely. I will no longer be angry with them.
5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.
5 I will be like dew to the people of Israel. They will blossom like flowers. They will be firmly rooted like cedars from Lebanon.
6 His shoots shall spread, and his beauty shall be as the olive-tree, and his smell as Lebanon.
6 They will be like growing branches. They will be beautiful like olive trees. They will be fragrant like cedars from Lebanon.
7 They shall return and sit under his shadow; they shall revive [as] corn, and blossom as the vine: the renown thereof shall be as the wine of Lebanon.
7 They will live again in God's shadow. They will grow like grain. They will blossom like grapevines. They will be as famous as the wines from Lebanon.
8 Ephraim [shall say], What have I to do any more with idols? (I answer [him], and I will observe him.) I am like a green fir-tree. -- From me is thy fruit found.
8 "The people of Ephraim will have nothing more to do with idols. I will answer them and take care of them. I am like a growing pine tree. Their fruit comes from me."
9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? intelligent, and he shall know them? For the ways of Jehovah are right, and the just shall walk in them; but the transgressors shall fall therein.
9 Wise people will understand these things. A person with insight will recognize them. The LORD's ways are right. Righteous people live by them. Rebellious people stumble over them.
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GOD'S WORD® is a copyrighted work of God's Word to the Nations. Copyright © 1995 by God's Word to the Nations. All rights reserved. Used by permission.