Hosea 6

¹Come, let us return to Yahweh; because it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck us down and will bind us up. ²He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live in his presence. ³Let us know, let us press on to know Yahweh; his rising is sure like the dawn. He will come like the showers to us, like the spring rain that waters the earth. ⁴What will I do with you, O Ephraim? What will I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early in the morning. ⁵Therefore, I have hewn them by the prophets; I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth like the light. ⁶Because I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, and 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 evil, a cunning city because of blood. ⁹Like bandits lying in wait, so is a band of priests; they murder on the road to Shechem; indeed, they commit a monstrous crime. ¹⁰In the house of Israel I have seen something horrible; Ephraim’s unfaithfulness is there. Israel is defiled. ¹¹For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed, when I restore the fortunes of my people,