Chapter 6
1 " Come ! Let ’s return to the LORD ; for he has torn us to pieces , and he will heal us ; he has injured us , and he will bind up our wounds .
2 After two days he will revive us . On the third day he will raise us up , and we will live before him .
3 Let’s acknowledge the LORD . Let’s press on to know the LORD . As surely as the sun rises, the LORD will appear. He will come to us like the rain , like the spring rain that waters the earth."
4 "Ephraim, what shall I do to you ? Judah , what shall I do to you ? For your love is like a morning cloud , and like the dew that disappears early .
5 Therefore I have cut them to pieces with the prophets ; I killed them with the words of my mouth . Your judgements are like a flash of lightning.
6 For I desire mercy , and not sacrifice ; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings .
7 But they , like Adam, have broken the covenant . They were unfaithful to me there .
8 Gilead is a city of those who work iniquity; it is stained with blood .
9 As gangs of robbers wait to ambush a man, so the company of priests murder on the path towards Shechem , committing shameful crimes.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing . There is prostitution in Ephraim. Israel is defiled .
11 " Also , Judah , there is a harvest appointed for you , when I restore the fortunes of my people .