6
1 “Come!
Let’s return to
the LORD;
for he has
torn us to
pieces,
and he will
heal us;
he has injured us,
and he will
bind up our
wounds.
2 After
two days he
will revive us.
On the third
day he will
raise us up,
and we will
live before him.
3 Let’s
acknowledge the
LORD.
Let’s press on to
know the LORD.
As surely as
the sun rises,
the LORD
will appear.
He will come
to us like
the rain,
like the spring
rain that waters
the earth.”
4 “Ephraim,
what shall I
do to you?
Judah, what shall
I do to
you?
For your love
is like a
morning cloud,
and like the
dew that
disappears early.
5 Therefore
I have cut
them to pieces
with the prophets;
I killed them
with the words
of my mouth.
Your judgments
are like a flash
of lightning.
6 For
I desire mercy,
and not sacrifice;
and the knowledge
of God more
than burnt
offerings.
7 But
they, like Adam,
have broken the
covenant.
They were unfaithful
to me there.
8 Gilead
is a city
of those who work iniquity;
it is stained
with blood.
9 As gangs
of robbers wait
to ambush a man,
so the company
of priests murder
on the path
toward Shechem,
committing shameful crimes.
10 In
the house of
Israel I have
seen a horrible
thing.
There is
prostitution in Ephraim.
Israel is defiled.
11 “Also,
Judah, there is
a harvest
appointed for you,
when I restore
the fortunes of
my people.