First reading
Thus says the Lord:
Return, O Israel, to the
Lord, your God;
you have collapsed
through your guilt.
Take with you words,
and return to the Lord;
Say to him, “Forgive all
iniquity,
and receive what is good,
that we may render
as offerings the bullocks
from our stalls.
Assyria will not save us,
nor shall we have
horses to mount;
We shall say no more,
‘Our god,’
to the work of our hands;
for in you the orphan
finds compassion.”
I will heal their defection,
says the Lord,
I will love them freely;
for my wrath is turned
away from them.
I will be like the dew
for Israel:
he shall blossom
like the lily;
He shall strike root like the
Lebanon cedar,
and put forth his shoots.
His splendor shall be like
the olive tree
and his fragrance like the
Lebanon cedar.
Again they shall dwell
in his shade
and raise grain;
They shall blossom like
the vine,
and his fame shall be like
the wine of Lebanon.
Ephraim! What more has he
to do with idols?
I have humbled him, but
I will prosper him.
“I am like a verdant
cypress tree”—
Because of me
you bear fruit!
Let him who is wise
understand these things;
let him who is prudent
know them.
Straight are the paths
of the Lord,
in them the just walk,
but sinners stumble
in them.