HOSEA 6 [†] “Come, let us  y return to the LORD;

for  z he has torn us, that he may heal us;

he has struck us down, and  a he will bind us up.

2[^][†] After two days  b he will revive us;

on the third day he will raise us up,

that we may live before him.

3[^]  c Let us know;  c let us press on to know the LORD;

 d his going out is sure as the dawn;

he will come to us  e as the showers,

 f as the spring rains that water the earth.”

4[†] What shall I do with you,  g O  h Ephraim?

What shall I do with you, O  h Judah?

Your love is  i like a morning cloud,

 i like the dew that goes early away.

5[†] Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;

I have slain them  j by the words of my mouth,

and my judgment goes forth as the light.

6[^][†] For  k I desire steadfast love [1] and not sacrifice,

 l the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

7[†] But  m like Adam they  n transgressed the covenant;

 o there they dealt faithlessly with me.

8[†]  p Gilead is a city of evildoers,

 q tracked with blood.

9[†] As robbers  r lie in wait for a man,

so the priests band together;

they murder on the way to  s Shechem;

they commit villainy.

10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;

 t Ephraim’s whoredom is there;  u Israel is defiled.

11[†] For you also, O  u Judah,  v a harvest is appointed,

when  w I restore the fortunes of my people.