Hosea 6

A Call to Repentance

⁶“Come, let us return to the Lord,

for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us;

he has struck down, and he will bind us up.^*

²After two days he will revive us;

on the third day he will raise us up,

that we may live before him.

³Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord;

his appearing is as sure as the dawn;

he will come to us like the showers,

like the spring rains that water the earth.”^*

Impenitence of Israel and Judah

⁴What 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.^*

⁵Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;

I have killed them by the words of my mouth,

and my^b judgment goes forth as the light.^*

⁶For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,

the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.^*

⁷But at^c Adam they transgressed the covenant;

there they dealt faithlessly with me.

⁸Gilead is a city of evildoers,

tracked with blood.

⁹As robbers lie in wait^d for someone,

so the priests are banded together;^e

they murder on the road to Shechem;

they commit a monstrous crime.^*

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

Ephraim’s prostitution is there; Israel is defiled.^*

¹¹For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.

When I would restore the fortunes of my people,^*