4 What 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.

5 Therefore 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.

6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,

the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

7 But like Adam they transgressed the covenant;

there they dealt faithlessly with me.

8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,

tracked with blood.

9 As robbers lie in wait for a man,

so the priests band together;

they murder on the way to Shechem;

they commit villainy.

10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;

Ephraim’s whoredom is there; Israel is defiled.

4 O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee?

O Judah, what shall I do unto thee?

For your goodness is as a morning cloud,

And as the early dew it goeth away.

5 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets;

I have slain them by the words of my mouth:

And thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.

6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice;

And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

7 But they like men have transgressed the covenant:

There have they dealt treacherously against me.

8 Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity,

And is polluted with blood.

9 And as troops of robbers wait for a man,

So the company of priests murder in the way by consent:

For they commit lewdness.

10 I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel:

There is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.

4 “O Israel and Judah,

what should I do with you?” asks the Lord.

“For your love vanishes like the morning mist

and disappears like dew in the sunlight.

5 I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces—

to slaughter you with my words,

with judgments as inescapable as light.

6 I want you to show love,

not offer sacrifices.

I want you to know me

more than I want burnt offerings.

7 But like Adam, you broke my covenant

and betrayed my trust.

8 “Gilead is a city of sinners,

tracked with footprints of blood.

9 Priests form bands of robbers,

waiting in ambush for their victims.

They murder travelers along the road to Shechem

and practice every kind of sin.

10 Yes, I have seen something horrible in Ephraim and Israel:

My people are defiled by prostituting themselves with other gods!

4 “O Ephraim, what shall I do to you?

O Judah, what shall I do to you?

For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud,

And like the early dew it goes away.

5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,

I have slain them by the words of My mouth;

And your judgments are like light that goes forth.

6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,

And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

7 “But like men they transgressed the covenant;

There they dealt treacherously with Me.

8 Gilead is a city of evildoers

And defiled with blood.

9 As bands of robbers lie in wait for a man,

So the company of priests murder on the way to Shechem;

Surely they commit lewdness.

10 I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel:

There is the harlotry of Ephraim;

Israel is defiled.

4 The Lord says, “Israel, what should I do with you?

Judah, what should I do with you?

Your faithfulness is like a morning mist,

like the dew that goes away early in the day.

5 I have warned you by my prophets

that I will kill you and destroy you.

My justice comes out like bright light.

6 I want faithful love

more than I want animal sacrifices.

I want people to know me

more than I want burnt offerings.

7 But they have broken the agreement as Adam did;

they have been unfaithful to me.

8 Gilead is a city of people who do evil;

their footprints are bloody.

9 The priests are like robbers waiting to attack people;

they murder people on the road to Shechem

and do wicked things.

10 I have seen horrible things in Israel.

Look at Israel’s prostitution;

Israel has become unclean.

4 O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goeth early away. 5 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. 6 For I desire goodness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings. 7 But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. 8 Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity; it is stained with blood. 9 And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way toward Shechem; yea, they have committed lewdness. 10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing: there whoredom is found in Ephraim, Israel is defiled.

4 What shall I do unto thee, Ephraim? What shall I do unto thee, Judah? For your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that early passeth away. 5 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and my judgment goeth forth as the light. 6 For I delight in loving-kindness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings. 7 But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. 8 Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity; it is tracked with blood. 9 And as troops of robbers lie in wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way of Shechem; yea, they commit lewdness. 10 In the house of Israel have I seen a horrible thing: the whoredom of Ephraim is there; Israel is defiled.

4 “What should I do with you, Ephraim? 

What should I do with you, Judah? 

Your love is like fog in the morning. 

It disappears as quickly as the morning dew. 

5 That is why I cut ⸤you⸥ down by sending the prophets. 

I killed you with the words from my mouth. 

My judgments shined on you like light. 

6 I want your loyalty, not your sacrifices. 

I want you to know me, not to give me burnt offerings. 

7 “Like Adam, you rejected the promise.

You were unfaithful to me. 

8 Gilead is a city filled with troublemakers. 

It is stained with bloody footprints. 

9 The priests are like gangs of robbers who lie in ambush for a person. 

They murder on the road to Shechem. 

Certainly, they have committed a crime. 

10 “I have seen horrible things in the nation of Israel. 

Ephraim is acting like a prostitute, 

and Israel is unclean.

4 What am I going to do with you, Ephraim?

What am I going to do with you, Judah?

Your loyalty is like the morning mist

and like the early dew that vanishes.

5 This is why I have used the prophets

to cut them down;

I have killed them with the words of My mouth.

My judgment strikes like lightning.

6 For I desire loyalty and not sacrifice,

the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

7 But they, like Adam, have violated the covenant;

there they have betrayed Me.

8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,

tracked with bloody footprints.

9 Like raiders who wait in ambush for someone,

a band of priests murders on the road to Shechem.

They commit atrocities.

10 I have seen something horrible in the house of Israel:

Ephraim’s promiscuity is there; Israel is defiled.

4 What 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 away early.

5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,

I have killed them by the words of my mouth,

and my judgment goes forth as the light.

6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,

the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

7 But at Adam they transgressed the covenant;

there they dealt faithlessly with me.

8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,

tracked with blood.

9 As robbers lie in wait for someone,

so the priests are banded together;

they murder on the road to Shechem,

they commit a monstrous crime.

10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;

Ephraim’s whoredom is there, Israel is defiled.

4 What 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.

5 Therefore, 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.

6 Because I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,

and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

7 But like Adam, they transgressed the covenant;

there they dealt faithlessly with me.

8 Gilead is a city of evil,

a cunning city because of blood.

9 Like bandits lying in wait,

so is a band of priests;

they murder on the road to Shechem;

indeed, they commit a monstrous crime.

10 In the house of Israel I have seen something horrible;

Ephraim’s unfaithfulness is there.

Israel is defiled.

4 The Lord says, “Ephraim, what can I do with you?

And what can I do with you, Judah?

Your love for me vanishes like the morning mist.

It soon disappears like the early dew.

5 So I used the words of my prophets to cut you in pieces.

I used my words to put you to death.

When I judged you, I struck you like lightning.

6 I want mercy and not sacrifice.

I want you to recognize me as God

instead of bringing me burnt offerings.

7 Just as Adam disobeyed me,

you have broken the covenant I made with you.

You were not faithful to me in the land I gave you.

8 Ramoth Gilead is a city where sinful people live.

It is stained with footprints of blood.

9 On the road to Shechem, groups of priests act like robbers.

They hide and wait to attack people.

They murder them

and commit other shameful crimes.

10 People of Israel, I have seen

a horrible thing in your land.

People of Ephraim, you have joined yourselves to other gods.

You have made yourselves ‘unclean.’

4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?

What shall I do with you, O Judah?

For your loyalty is like a morning cloud

And like the dew which goes away early.

5 Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets;

I have slain them by the words of My mouth;

And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth.

6 For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice,

And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

7 But like Adam they have transgressed the covenant;

There they have dealt treacherously against Me.

8 Gilead is a city of wrongdoers,

Tracked with bloody footprints.

9 And as raiders wait for a man,

So a band of priests murder on the way to Shechem;

Surely they have committed crime.

10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;

Ephraim’s harlotry is there, Israel has defiled itself.