1 Return, Israel, to the Lord your God.
Your sins have been your downfall!
and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
“Forgive all our sins
and receive us graciously,
that we may offer the fruit of our lips.a
we will not mount warhorses.
We will never again say ‘Our gods’
to what our own hands have made,
for in you the fatherless find compassion.”
and love them freely,
for my anger has turned away from them.
he will blossom like a lily.
Like a cedar of Lebanon
he will send down his roots;
His splendor will be like an olive tree,
his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
they will flourish like the grain,
they will blossom like the vine —
Israel’s fame will be like the wine of Lebanon.
I will answer him and care for him.
I am like a flourishing juniper;
your fruitfulness comes from me.”
Who is discerning? Let them understand.
The ways of the Lord are right;
the righteous walk in them,
but the rebellious stumble in them.