1 "Come, let us return to the LORD .
He has torn us to pieces
but he will heal us;
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds. |
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence. |
3 Let us acknowledge the LORD ;
let us press on to acknowledge him.
As surely as the sun rises,
he will appear;
he will come to us like the winter rains,
like the spring rains that water the earth." |
4 "What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears. |
5 Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth;
my judgments flashed like lightning upon you. |
6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. |
7 Like Adam,1 6:7 Or As at Adam ; or Like men they have broken the covenant-
they were unfaithful to me there. |
8 Gilead is a city of wicked men,
stained with footprints of blood. |
9 As marauders lie in ambush for a man,
so do bands of priests;
they murder on the road to Shechem,
committing shameful crimes. |
10 I have seen a horrible thing
in the house of Israel.
There Ephraim is given to prostitution
and Israel is defiled. |
11 "Also for you, Judah,
a harvest is appointed. |
