6 “Come, let’s return to the Lord;
for it is he who has injured us and will heal us;
he has struck us down, but he will bind us up.
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
so that we may live before him.
3 Let’s know, let’s press on to know the Lord;
whose appearing is as certain as the dawn;
who will come to us like the showers,
like the spring rains that give drink to the earth.”
Infidelity and divine retribution
4 Ephraim, what will I do with you?
Judah, what will I do with you?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that vanishes quickly.
5 Therefore, I have attacked them by the prophets,
I have killed them by the words of my mouth,
and my judgment goes forth like a light.
6 I desire faithful love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God instead of entirely burned offerings.
7 But like Adam[a] they broke the covenant;
then they acted in bad faith against me.
8 Gilead is a city of wicked people,
tracked with blood.
9 As robbers lie in wait for someone,
so the priests are in league with each other;
they murder on the road to Shechem;
they have done evil things.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen something horrible;
Ephraim acts like a prostitute; Israel is defiled.
11 For you also, Judah, a harvest is appointed,
when I would improve the circumstances of my people.
Footnotes
- Hosea 6:7 Or at Adam