Osee 6

1 In their affliction they will seek me early, saying, Let us go, and return to the Lord our God; for he has torn, and will heal us; he will smite, and bind us up.

'Come, and we turn back unto Jehovah, For He hath torn, and He doth heal us, He doth smite, and He bindeth us up.

2 After two days he will heal us: in the third day we shall arise, and live before him, and shall know [him]:

He doth revive us after two days, In the third day He doth raise us up, And we live before Him.

3 let us follow on to know the Lord: we shall find him ready as the morning, and he will come to us as the early and latter rain to the earth.

And we know — we pursue to know Jehovah, As the dawn prepared is His going forth, And He cometh in as a shower to us, As gathered rain — sprinkling earth.'

4 What shall I do unto thee, Ephraim? What shall I do to thee, Juda? whereas your mercy is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew that goes away.

What do I do to thee, O Ephraim? What do I do to thee, O Judah? Your goodness [is] as a cloud of the morning, And as dew rising early — going.

5 Therefore have I mown down your prophets; I have slain them with the word of my mouth: and my judgment shall go forth as the light.

Therefore I have hewed by prophets, I have slain them by sayings of My mouth, And My judgments to the light goeth forth.

6 For I will [have] mercy rather than sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than whole-burnt-offerings.

For kindness I desired, and not sacrifice, And a knowledge of God above burnt-offerings.

7 But they are as a man transgressing a covenant:

And they, as Adam, transgressed a covenant, There they dealt treacherously against me.

8 there the city Galaad despised me, working vanity, troubling water.

Gilead [is] a city of workers of iniquity, Slippery from blood.

9 And thy strength [is that] of a robber: the priests have hid the way, they have murdered [the people of] Sicima; for they have wrought iniquity in the house of Israel.

And as bands do wait for a man, A company of priests do murder — the way to Shechem, For wickedness they have done.

10 I have seen horrible [things] there, [even] the fornication of Ephraim: Israel and Juda are defiled;

In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing, There [is] the whoredom of Ephraim — defiled is Israel.

11 begin together grapes for thyself, when I turn the captivity of my people.

Also, O Judah, appointed is a harvest to thee, In My turning back [to] the captivity of My people!