Hosea 6

¹Come , let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.

²After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.

³Let us know ; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn ; he will come to us as the showers , as the spring rains that water the earth .

⁴What shall I do with you, O Ephraim ? What shall I do with you, O Judah ? Your love is like a morning cloud , like the dew that goes early away .

⁵Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets ; I have slain them by the words of my mouth , and my judgment goes forth as the light .

⁶For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice , the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings .

⁷But like Adam they transgressed the covenant ; there they dealt faithlessly with me.

⁸Gilead is a city of evildoers , tracked with blood .

⁹As robbers lie in wait for a man , so the priests band together; they murder on the way to Shechem ; they commit villainy .

¹⁰In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing ; Ephraim’s whoredom is there ; Israel is defiled .

¹¹For you also , O Judah , a harvest is appointed , when I restore the fortunes of my people .