Passage
O Israel, returne vnto the Lord thy God: for thou hast fallen by thine iniquitie.
Hosea 14:2 (GNV)
Nearby Context
Hosea 14:1 Samaria shalbe desolate: for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sworde: their infants shalbe dashed in pieces, and their women with childe shalbe ript.
Hosea 14:2 O Israel, returne vnto the Lord thy God: for thou hast fallen by thine iniquitie.
Hosea 14:3 Take vnto you words, and turne to the Lord, and say vnto him, Take away all iniquitie, and receiue vs graciously: so wil we render the calues of our lippes.
Hosea 14:4 Asshur shall not saue vs, neither wil we ride vpon horses, neither will we say any more to the worke of our handes, Ye are our gods: for in thee the fatherlesse findeth mercie.
Study Lenses
The verse centers on "israel", "returne", "vnto", "lord", "thou", "hast", "fallen", and "thine". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "israel" and "returne", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.
The nearby context moves from verse 1's "Samaria shalbe desolate for she hath rebelled..." into verse 3's "Take vnto you words and turne to...", so "israel" and "returne" 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 "israel" and "returne" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.