5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots;
5 I will be as the dew unto Israel: he shall grow
5 I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;
5 I will make a fresh start with Israel. He'll burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring. He'll put down deep oak tree roots,
5 I will be like the dew to Israel; He shall grow like the lily, And lengthen his roots like Lebanon.
5 I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven. Israel will blossom like the lily; it will send roots deep into the soil like the cedars in Lebanon.
6 his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree, his fragrance like a cedar of Lebanon.
6 His branches shall spread,
6 his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon.
6 he'll become a forest of oaks! He'll become splendid - like a giant sequoia, his fragrance like a grove of cedars!
6 His branches shall spread; His beauty shall be like an olive tree, And his fragrance like Lebanon.
6 Its branches will spread out like beautiful olive trees, as fragrant as the cedars of Lebanon.
(Read Hosea 14:4-8)
Israel seeks God's face, and they shall not seek it in vain. His anger is turned from them. Whom God loves, he loves freely; not because they deserve it, but of his own good pleasure. God will be to them all they need. The graces of the Spirit are the hidden manna, hidden in the dew; the grace thus freely bestowed on them shall not be in vain. They shall grow upward, and be more flourishing; shall grow as the lily. The lily, when come to its height, is a lovely flower, Isaiah 27:9. See the nature of repentance; it is a firm and fixed resolution to have no more to do with sin. The Lord meets penitents with mercy, as the father of the prodigal met his returning son. God will be to all true converts both a delight and a defence; they shall sit under his shadow with delight. And as the root of a tree; From me is thy fruit found: from Him we receive grace and strength to enable us to do our duty.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Hosea 14:5
Commentary on Hosea 14:4-8
(Read Hosea 14:4-8)
Israel seeks God's face, and they shall not seek it in vain. His anger is turned from them. Whom God loves, he loves freely; not because they deserve it, but of his own good pleasure. God will be to them all they need. The graces of the Spirit are the hidden manna, hidden in the dew; the grace thus freely bestowed on them shall not be in vain. They shall grow upward, and be more flourishing; shall grow as the lily. The lily, when come to its height, is a lovely flower, Isaiah 27:9. See the nature of repentance; it is a firm and fixed resolution to have no more to do with sin. The Lord meets penitents with mercy, as the father of the prodigal met his returning son. God will be to all true converts both a delight and a defence; they shall sit under his shadow with delight. And as the root of a tree; From me is thy fruit found: from Him we receive grace and strength to enable us to do our duty.