A Plea to Return to the Lord
1nReturn, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for oyou have stumbled because of your iniquity.
2Take with you words
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
“Take away all iniquity;
accept pwhat is good,
and we will pay with bulls
3rAssyria shall not save us;
swe will not ride on horses;
and twe will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
uIn you the orphan finds mercy.”
4I vwill heal their apostasy;
wI will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
5xI will be like the dew to Israel;
yhe shall blossom like the lily;
he shall take root like the trees zof Lebanon;
6his shoots shall spread out;
his beauty shall be alike the olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7They shall return and bdwell beneath my2 shadow;
they shall flourish like the grain;
they shall blossom like the vine;
their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8O cEphraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.3
I am like an evergreen cypress;
dfrom me comes your fruit.
9eWhoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
and fthe upright walk in them,
fbut transgressors stumble in them.
The Prophesied Kingdom — Part One
Ezra 1:1 – Malachi 4:6 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 36:31 • ID: 2390The Prophesied Kingdom — Part Two
Ezra 1:1 – Malachi 4:6 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 43:38 • ID: 2391Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.