Hosea 6

1 “Come, and we turn back to YHWH, For He has torn, and He heals us, He strikes, and He binds us up.

“Come, let us return to Yahweh. For he has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us; he has injured us, but he will bandage our wounds.

2 He revives us after two days, In the third day He raises us up, And we live before Him.

After two days he will revive us; he will raise us up on the third day, and we will live before him.

3 And we know—we pursue to know YHWH, His going forth is prepared as the dawn, And He comes in as a shower to us, As spring rain [and] autumn rain to the earth.”

Let us know Yahweh; let us press on to know Yahweh. His coming out is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the land.”

4 “What do I do to you, O Ephraim? What do I do to you, O Judah? Your goodness [is] as a cloud of the morning, And as dew rising early—going.

Ephraim, what will I do with you? Judah, what will I do with you? Your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early.

5 Therefore I have hewed by prophets, I have slain them by sayings of My mouth, And My judgments go forth to the light.

So I have cut them to pieces by the prophets, I have killed them with the words of my mouth. Your decrees are like the light that shines out.

6 For kindness I desired, and not sacrifice, And a knowledge of God above burnt-offerings.

For I desire faithfulness and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

7 And they, as Adam, transgressed a covenant, There they dealt treacherously against Me.

Like Adam they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me.

8 Gilead [is] a city of workers of iniquity, Slippery from blood.

Gilead is a city of evildoers with footprints of blood.

9 And as bands wait for a man, A company of priests murder—the way to Shechem, For they have done wickedness.

As gangs of robbers wait for someone, so the priests band together to commit murder on the way to Shechem; they have committed shameful crimes.

10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing, There [is] the whoredom of Ephraim—Israel is defiled.

In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim's prostitution is there, and Israel has become unclean.

11 Also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed to you, In My turning back [to] the captivity of My people!”

For you also, Judah, a harvest has been appointed, when I will restore the fortunes of my people.