Hosea 6

1“Come, let us return to the LORD. It is he who has torn us, and he will heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bandage our wounds. 2After two days he will bring us back to life; on the third day he will raise us up, so that we may live in his presence. 3Let us know the LORD; let us press on to know him. His coming is as certain as the sunrise; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rain that waters the land.” 4What am I to do with you, Ephraim? What am I to do with you, Judah? Your loyal love is like the morning mist, like the dew that vanishes early in the day. 5That is why I have cut them down by the prophets; I have killed them with the words of my mouth, and the judgment on you goes out like the light. 6For I want loyal love, not sacrifice, and knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. 7But like Adam they have broken the covenant; there they have betrayed me. 8Gilead is a city of evildoers, marked with bloody footprints. 9Like bandits lying in wait for a victim, so is a gang of priests; they murder on the road to Shechem; what they have done is a vile crime. 10In the house of Israel I have seen something horrible: Ephraim’s prostitution is there, and Israel has become unclean. 11Judah, a harvest is set for you too. Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,