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Commentary on the Book of Hosea, Chapter 14: 

The long list of ways the people have broken their covenant with God has ended, and the prophet Hosea pleas for the people to return to the Covenant. They need to admit their wrong-doing, make the decision to not repeat their offences, and beg God for the mercy He offers to orphans. While God’s mercy for orphans is a common theme in His laws, it also recalls the opening of the book when Hosea’s children were given names symbolizing a lack of family and lack of pity or mercy (1:6-9). That this state of being orphaned can be overturned is revealed in God’s response: He will heal, love, and nourish His people so that they flourish like a well-tended garden. Where there has been a lack of life, God now provides abundant life. The prophecies close with a reminder that the wise will walk in God’s ways.

The Book of Hosea, Chapter 14:

A Plea for Repentance and a Promise

1 Return, O Israel, to the
Lord your God, for you have stumbled
because of your iniquity.
2 Take with you words and return to the Lord;
say to him,
“Take away all iniquity; accept that which is good
and we will render the fruit of our lips.
3 Assyria shall not save us, we will not ride upon
horses;
and we will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
In you the orphan finds
mercy.”
4 I will heal their faithlessness; I will love them freely,
for my anger has turned from them.
5 I will be as the dew to Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, he shall strike root as the
poplar;
6 his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the
olive,
and his fragrance like Lebanon.
7 They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow,
they shall flourish as a
garden;
they shall blossom as the vine, their fragrance shall be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like an evergreen cypress, from me comes your fruit.
9 Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.

*Daily Lectio Divina Question:

Read this chapter again, slowly and listen to God speak to you through the words of this chapter as if you are a little child and he is your doting parent. What feelings does that imagery evoke?

Biblical Commentary provided by the Catholic Biblical School of Michigan. Join a Catholic Biblical School of Michigan class this September at Holy Family in Grand Blanc, or online.

Revised Standard Version; Second Catholic Edition. (San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006).
Permission to use the RSV-2CE given for Bishop's Year of the Bible by Ignatius Press. Many thanks to Ignatius for this.
If you're looking for a good Catholic edition of the Bible, look no further.