Hosea 6

1 In their affliction they will rise early to me: Come, and let us return to the Lord:

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.

2 For he hath taken us, and he will heal us: he will strike, and he will cure us.

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.

3 He will revive us after two days: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. We shall know, and we shall follow on, that we may know the Lord. His going forth is prepared as the morning light, and he will come to us as the early and the latter rain to the earth.

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.

4 What shall I do to thee, O Ephraim? what shall I do to thee, O Juda? your mercy is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goeth away in the morning.

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.

5 For this reason have I hewed them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments shall go forth as the light.

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

6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice: and the knowledge of God more than holocausts.

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

7 But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant, there have they dealt treacherously against me.

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

8 Galaad is a city of workers of idols, supplanted with blood.

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

9 And like the jaws of highway robbers, they conspire with the priests who murder in the way those that pass out Sichem: for they have wrought wickedness.

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.

10 I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel: the fornications of Ephraim there: Israel is defiled.

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

11 And thou also, O Juda, set thee a harvest, when I shall bring back captivity of my people.

And Judah has put up disgusting images for himself.