Hosea 14:3 (DRB)

Passage

Take with you words, and return to the Lord, and say to him: Take away all iniquity, and receive the good: and we will render the calves of our lips.

Nearby Context

Hosea 14:1 Let Samaria perish, because she hath stirred up her God to bitterness: let them perish by the sword, let their little ones be dashed, and let the women with child be ripped up.

Hosea 14:2 Return, O Israel, to the Lord thy God: for thou hast fallen down by thy iniquity.

Hosea 14:3 Take with you words, and return to the Lord, and say to him: Take away all iniquity, and receive the good: and we will render the calves of our lips.

Hosea 14:4 Assyria shall not save us, we will not ride upon horses, neither will we say any more: The works of our hands are our gods: for thou wilt have mercy on the fatherless that is in thee.

Hosea 14:5 I will heal their breaches, I will love them freely: for my wrath is turned away from them.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "take", "words", "return", "lord", "away", "iniquity", and "receive". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "take" and "words", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Return O Israel to the Lord thy..." into verse 4's "Assyria shall not save us we will...", so "take" and "words" belong inside that flow. In Hosea context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "take" and "words" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.