Hosea

¹ You're down but you're not out.

² and come back to God. Pray to him, "Take away our sin, accept our confession. Receive as restitution our repentant prayers.

³ horses won't get us where we want to go. We'll never again say 'our god' to something we've made or made up. You're our last hope. Is it not true that in you the orphan finds mercy?"

⁴ I will love them lavishly. My anger is played out.

⁵ He'll burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring. He'll put down deep oak tree roots,

⁶ He'll become splendid—like a giant sequoia, his fragrance like a grove of cedars!

⁷ be blessed and prosper like golden grain. Everyone will be talking about them, spreading their fame as the vintage children of God.

⁸ From now on I'm the one who answers and satisfies him. I am like a luxuriant fruit tree. Everything you need is to be found in me."

⁹ make sure you understand all of this. If you know what's good for you, you'll learn this inside and out. God's paths get you where you want to go. Right-living people walk them easily; wrong-living people are always tripping and stumbling.