Hosea 14:2-10
2 Return O Israel, to Adonai your God,
for you have stumbled in your iniquity.
3 Take words with you and return to Adonai.
Say to Him: “Take away all iniquity,
and accept what is good,
so we may repay with offerings[a] of our lips:
4 ‘Assyria will not save us.
We will not ride on horses,
and we will never again say, “Our god,”
to the work of our hands,
for with You, orphans find mercy.’”
5 “I will heal their backsliding,
I will love them freely,
for My anger will turn away from him.
6 I will be like dew for Israel.
He will blossom like a lily,
and thrust out his roots like Lebanon.
7 His tender shoots will spread out.
His beauty will be like an olive tree
and his fragrance will be like Lebanon.
8 Those dwelling in his shadow will return.
They will grow grain and bud like a vine.
His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
9 Ephraim: “What more are idols to me?
I have responded and observed Him.
I will be like a luxuriant cypress tree.
From me will be found Your fruit.”
10 Who is wise? Let him discern these things.
Who is intelligent? Let him know them.[b]
For the ways of Adonai are straight,
and the just walk in them,
but the wicked stumble in them.
Micah 7:18-20
He Will Again Have Compassion
18 Who is a God like You
pardoning iniquity, overlooking transgression,
for the remnant of His heritage?
He will not retain His anger forever,
because He delights in mercy.
19 He will again have compassion on us.
He will subdue our iniquities,
and You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
20 You will extend truth to Jacob,
mercy to Abraham,
that You swore to our ancestors
from the days of old.
Joel 2:15-27
Blow the Shofar
15 Blow the shofar in Zion!
Sanctify a fast;
proclaim an assembly.
16 Gather the people;
sanctify the congregation;
assemble the elders;
gather the children,
even those nursing at breasts.
Let the bridegroom come out from his bedroom
and the bride from her chamber.
17 Between the porch and the altar
let the kohanim, ministers of Adonai,
weep, and let them say:
“Have pity, Adonai, on Your people.
Don’t make Your heritage a scorn,
a byword among the nations.
Why should the peoples say,
‘Where is their God?’”[a]
18 Adonai will be zealous for His land,
and have compassion on His people.
19 Adonai will answer and say to His people:
“Behold, I will send you the grain,
the new wine, and the fresh oil,
and you will be satisfied with it.
I will no longer make you a mockery among the nations.
20 “But I will remove the northern invader far from you—
yes, I will banish him to a dry and desolate land—
his vanguard into the Eastern Sea
and his rearguard into the Western Sea.
His odor will go up—
Yes, his stench will rise.”
For He[b] has done great things!
Rain and Restoration
21 Do not fear, O land. Be glad! Rejoice!
For Adonai has done great things.
22 Do not be afraid, beasts of the field,
for the desert pastures have sprouted,
for the tree bears its fruit.
Fig tree and vine yield their strength.
23 So be glad, children of Zion,
and rejoice in Adonai, your God.
For He gives you the early rain[c] for prosperity,
Yes, He will bring down rain for you,
the early and latter rain as before.
24 The threshing floors will be full of grain
and the vats will overflow with new wine and fresh oil.
25 “I shall restore to you the years
that the locust, the swarming locust,
the canker-worm and the caterpillar have eaten—
My great army that I sent among you.”
26 “You will surely eat and be satisfied,
and praise the Name of Adonai your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
Never again will My people be shamed
27 You will know that I am within Israel.
Yes, I am Adonai your God—there is no other—
Never again will My people be shamed.”
