Hosea 6

Return and healing

1“Come, let us return to the LORD.
He has torn us, but he will heal us;
he has struck us, but he will bind our wounds. 2After two days he will bring us back to life;
on the third day he will raise us up,
and we will live before him. 3Let us know him; let us press on to know the LORD.
His coming is as certain as the dawn.
He will come to us like the rain,
like spring rain watering the earth.”

Love that vanishes

4“What am I to do with you, Ephraim?
What am I to do with you, Judah?
Your faithful love is like a morning cloud,
like dew that vanishes early. 5That is why I have cut them down through the prophets,
killed them with the words of my mouth.
The judgments against you go out like light. 6I desire faithful love, not sacrifice;
knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings. 7But like Adam they broke the covenant;
there they betrayed me. 8Gilead is a city of evildoers,
tracked with blood. 9Like bands of raiders waiting for someone,
a company of priests murders on the road to Shechem.
They have committed an outrage. 10In the house of Israel I have seen a horror:
Ephraim’s prostitution is there;
Israel is defiled. 11For you too, Judah, a harvest is appointed.
When I restore my people’s fortunes,