14
1 Shomron shall bear guilt;
for she hath rebelled against her Elohim;
they shall fall by the cherev;
their olalim shall be dashed in pieces,
and their women with child shall be ripped open.
2 O Yisroel, return unto Hashem Eloheicha;
for thy downfall hast been thine avon (iniquity).
3 Take devarim (words) with you,
and turn to Hashem;
say unto Him: Take away avon (iniquity),
and receive us graciously
that we may render the sacrifices of our lips.*
4 Assyria shall not save us;
we will not ride upon susim;
neither will we say any more to the work of our hands:
Ye are Eloheinu;
for in Thee the yatom (orphan) findeth compassion.
5 I will heal their meshuvah (backsliding);
I will love them freely;
for Mine anger is turned away from him.
6 I will be as the tal (dew) unto Yisroel:
he shall blossom as the lily,
and strike root as Levanon.
7 His branches shall spread,
and his beauty shall be as the zayit (olive tree),
and his hod (splendor) as Levanon.
8 They that dwell under his tzel (shade) shall return;
they shall revive as the dagan, and grow as the gefen;
the remembrance thereof shall be as the yayin of Levanon.
9 Ephrayim shall say, What have I to do any more with atzabim?
It is I who answer and look after him;
I am like an evergreen cypress.
From Me is thy p'ri found.
10 Who is chacham, and he shall have binah of these things?
Prudent, and he shall know them?
For the Darkhei Hashem are right,
and the tzaddikim shall walk in them;
but the poshe'im (transgressors) shall fall therein.
* 14:3 MJ 13:15