Hosea 14 (LSB)

Chapter Text

14:1 Return, O Israel, to Yahweh your God, For you have stumbled in your iniquity.

14:2 Take words with you and return to Yahweh. Say to Him, “Forgive all iniquity And take what is good, That we may pay in full the fruit of our lips.

14:3 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 compassion.”

14:4 I will heal their turning away from Me; I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from them.

14:5 I will be like the dew to Israel; He will flourish like the lily, And he will take root like the cedars of Lebanon.

14:6 His shoots will go forth, And his splendor will be like the olive tree And his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.

14:7 Those who live in his shadow Will again raise grain, And they will flourish like the vine. His name of remembrance will be like the wine of Lebanon.

14:8 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.

14:9 Whoever is wise, so let him discern these things; Whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of Yahweh are right, And the righteous will walk in them, But transgressors will stumble in them.

Study Lenses

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

The local LSB text gives this verse as the immediate unit, so "return" and "israel" carries the first interpretive weight. In Hosea context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

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