Hosea 6

1 Come, let us go back to the Lord; for he has given us wounds and he will make us well; he has given blows and he will give help.

“Come on! Let's go back to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces, but now he will heal us. He has struck us down, but now he will bind up our wounds.

2 After two days he will give us life, and on the third day he will make us get up, and we will be living before him.

In two days he will heal us; after three days he will raise us up so we can live in his presence.

3 And let us have knowledge, let us go after the knowledge of the Lord; his going out is certain as the dawn, his decisions go out like the light; he will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain watering the earth.

Let's get to know the Lord, really strive to know him, and he will appear to us as surely as the sun will rise; he will come to us as certainly as the spring rains fall on the earth.”

4 O Ephraim, what am I to do to you? O Judah, what am I to do to you? For your love is like a morning cloud, and like the dew which goes early away.

Ephraim, what shall I do with you? Judah, what shall I do with you? Your love disappears like mist at dawn; it vanishes like dew in the morning.

5 So I have had it cut in stones; I gave them teaching by the words of my mouth;

So I cut you down through the prophets; I killed you with my words. My judgment shines out like a light.

6 Because my desire is for mercy and not offerings; for the knowledge of God more than for burned offerings.

I want your true love, not your sacrifices; I want you to know me, not your burnt offerings.

7 But like a man, they have gone against the agreement; there they were false to me.

But you, just like Adam, broke our agreement, there you were unfaithful to me.

8 Gilead is a town of evil-doers, marked with blood.

Gilead is a city of evil people where footprints are tracked in blood.

9 And like a band of thieves waiting for a man, so are the priests watching secretly the way of those going quickly to Shechem, for they are working with an evil design.

Priests are like a gang of bandits, lying in wait to ambush travelers on the road. They commit murder in Shechem, carrying out wicked crimes.

10 In Israel I have seen a very evil thing; there false ways are seen in Ephraim, Israel is unclean;

I have seen in the house of Israel something totally disgusting: Ephraim engages in prostitution and Israel is sexually corrupt.

11 And Judah has put up disgusting images for himself.

And as for you, Judah, your harvest-time has been set! When I restore the fortunes of my people,