1 “Come, let us return to the Lord,For it is he who has torn, but he will heal us;he has struck down, but he will bind our wounds.
2 He will revive us after two days;on the third day he will raise us up,to live in his presence.
3 Let us know, let us strive to know the Lord;as certain as the dawn is his coming.He will come to us like the rain,like spring rain that waters the earth.”
4 What can I do with you, Ephraim?What can I do with you, Judah?Your loyalty is like morning mist,like the dew that disappears early.
5 For this reason I struck them down through the prophets,I killed them by the words of my mouth; my judgment shines forth like the light.
6 For it is loyalty that I desire, not sacrifice,and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 But they, at Adam, violated the covenant;there they betrayed me.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,tracked with blood.
9 Like brigands lying in waitis the band of priests.They murder on the road to Shechem,indeed they commit a monstrous crime.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing:there is found Ephraim’s prostitution,Israel is defiled.
11 For you also, Judah,a harvest has been appointed!