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.

[The Israeli people say, ] “Come, let’s return to Yahweh! He has caused [us] to be injured, but he will heal us. He has caused [us] to be wounded, but [it is as though] he will put bandages on our wounds [MET].

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.

After a very short time he will revive us; in less than three days he will restore us in order that we may 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.

We must try to know Yahweh; [if we do that, ] he will come [and help] us, as surely as the sun rises [every morning], as surely as rain falls every winter/cold season, and as surely as the rain falls again (in the springtime/at the end of the cold season).”

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.

[But Yahweh knows they are insincere; ] [so he says to them, ] “You [people of] Israel, and you [people of] Judah, [I do not know] [RHQ] what I should do to you. Your being faithful [to me will disappear as quickly] as [SIM] the morning mist [disappears], like [SIM] the dew [on the ground] that disappears quickly [when the sun shines].

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

I warned [HYP] you by [the messages that I gave to] the prophets, [but you did not pay attention to my messages]. Therefore I will completely destroy you; the punishment that I give you will strike you like lightning.

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

I want [my people] to faithfully love [me] more than [I want them to offer] sacrifices [to me]; [I want them] to know me more than [I want them to] completely burn sacrifices [on the altar].

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

But they have refused to obey my agreement, [just] like Adam did; they have not been faithful to me.

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

Gilead is a city [full] of people who do wicked things; [in the streets] are the bloody footprints [of those who have murdered others].

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.

The priests are like [SIM] bandits who wait (in ambushes/along the road) to attack people; they murder [people who are walking] on the road to Shechem, and they commit other disgraceful crimes.

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

I have seen horrible things [being done] in Israel [MTY]. The people have abandoned me [like prostitutes who have abandoned their husbands] [MET]; [so the people of] Israel have become unacceptable to me.

11 And Judah has put up disgusting images for himself.

And you [people of] Judah, I have appointed a time when I will punish [MET] you, too. Whenever I wanted to enable my people to prosper again,”