Hosea 5:13–7:2

13 “When Ephraimx saw his sickness,

and Judah his sores,

then Ephraim turned to Assyria,y

and sent to the great king for help.z

But he is not able to curea you,

not able to heal your sores.b

14 For I will be like a lionc to Ephraim,

like a great lion to Judah.

I will tear them to piecesd and go away;

I will carry them off, with no one to rescue them.e

15 Then I will return to my lairf

until they have borne their guiltg

and seek my faceh—

in their miseryi

they will earnestly seek me.j”

Israel Unrepentant

6 “Come, let us returnk to the Lord.

He has torn us to piecesl

but he will heal us;m

he has injured us

but he will bind up our wounds.n

2 After two days he will revive us;o

on the third dayp he will restoreq us,

that we may live in his presence.

3 Let us acknowledge the Lord;

let us press on to acknowledge him.

As surely as the sun rises,

he will appear;

he will come to us like the winter rains,r

like the spring rains that water the earth.s”

4 “What can I do with you, Ephraim?t

What can I do with you, Judah?

Your love is like the morning mist,

like the early dew that disappears.u

5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,

I killed you with the words of my mouthv—

then my judgments go forth like the sun.a w

6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,x

and acknowledgmenty of God rather than burnt offerings.z

7 As at Adam,b they have broken the covenant;a

they were unfaithfulb to me there.

8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,c

stained with footprints of blood.

9 As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,d

so do bands of priests;

they murdere on the road to Shechem,

carrying out their wicked schemes.f

10 I have seen a horribleg thing in Israel:

There Ephraim is given to prostitution,

Israel is defiled.h

11 “Also for you, Judah,

a harvesti is appointed.

“Whenever I would restore the fortunesj of my people,

7 whenever I would heal Israel,

the sins of Ephraim are exposed

and the crimes of Samaria revealed.k

They practice deceit,l

thieves break into houses,m

bandits rob in the streets;n

2 but they do not realize

that I remembero all their evil deeds.p

Their sins engulf them;q

they are always before me.