Hosea 6

Israel and Judah Are Unrepentant

1  “Come, let us a return to the  Lord;
for b he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and c he will bind us up.
 2 After two days d he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
 3  e Let us know; f let us press on to know the  Lord;
g his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us h as the showers,
i as the spring rains that water the earth.”
 4  What shall I do with you, j O k Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, O l Judah?
Your love is m like a morning cloud,
n like the dew that goes early away.
 5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;
I have slain them o by the words of my mouth,
and my judgment goes forth as the light.
 6 For p I desire steadfast love ▼
▼ Septuagint mercy
 and not sacrifice,
r the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
 7  But s like Adam they t transgressed the covenant;
u there they dealt faithlessly with me.
 8  v Gilead is a city of evildoers,
w tracked with blood.
 9 As robbers x lie in wait for a man,
so the priests band together;
they murder on the way to y Shechem;
they commit villainy.
 10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;
z Ephraim’s whoredom is there; aa Israel is defiled.
 11  For you also, O ab Judah, ac a harvest is appointed,
when ad I restore the fortunes of my people.
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