Hosea 6

The People Are Not Faithful

6“Come, let’s go back to the Lord.

He has hurt us, but he will heal us.

He has wounded us, but he will bandage our wounds.

²In two days he will put new life in us;

on the third day he will raise us up

so that we may live in his presence ³and know him.

Let’s try to learn about the Lord;

he will come to us as surely as the dawn comes.

He will come to us like rain,

like the spring rain that waters the ground.”

⁴The 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.

⁵I have warned you by my prophets

that I will kill you and destroy you.

My justice comes out like bright light.

⁶I want faithful love

more than I want animal sacrifices.

I want people to know me

more than I want burnt offerings.

⁷But they have broken the agreement as Adam did;

they have been unfaithful to me.

⁸Gilead is a city of people who do evil;

their footprints are bloody.

⁹The priests are like robbers waiting to attack people;

they murder people on the road to Shechem ⁿ

and do wicked things.

¹⁰I have seen horrible things in Israel.

Look at Israel’s prostitution;

Israel has become unclean.

¹¹“Judah, I have set a harvest time for you

when I will make the lives of my people good again.