14
Those who repent will be blessed
1 You people of Israel, return to Yahweh our God.
You are being punished because of the sins which you have committed.
2 So now return to Yahweh
and say [MTY] this to him:
“Forgive us for all the sins that we have committed,
and kindly accept ◄us/our sacrifices►
in order that we may thank/praise you [IDM].
3 We admit that Assyria will not save us,
and our war horses will not save us, either.
We will never again say, ‘You are our gods’
to the idols that we [SYN] have made.
You are the one who acts mercifully to orphans.”
4 Yahweh says, “If they say that to me, I will forgive them for having ◄turned away from/abandoned► me,
and I will love them with all my inner being,
because I [PRS] will have stopped being angry with them.
5 I will be to the people of Israel
like dew that refreshes the soil.
When I do that, they will become as delightful as [MET] lilies are when they are blooming.
No one will be able to conquer them;
they will be as unmovable as [SIM] the roots of cedar trees.
6 Their good influence will spread like [MET] the branches of a tree.
They will be like [SIM] beautiful olive trees,
and they will be as delightful as [SIM] the aroma of the cedar trees in Lebanon.
7 People will come to them to be protected
like people are protected from the hot sun by being [MET] in the shade of a tree.
They will ◄flourish/be strong► like [SIM] grain that grows well.
They will be successful like a vineyard in which grapes grow abundantly.
They will become as famous/well-known as [SIM] the wines from Lebanon.
8 You people of Israel, do not [RHQ] have anything more to do with idols;
if you get rid of your idols, I will answer your prayers and take care of you.
I am like [MET] a strong/green pine tree,
and your blessings come from me.”
9 Those who are wise will understand the things about which I have written.
Those who think well will pay careful attention to them.
The things that Yahweh wants us to do [MET] are right;
righteous people will conduct their lives adhering to them.
But those who rebel against Yahweh will be ruined.