Hosea 6

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

“Come on! Let's go back to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces, but now he will heal us. He has struck us down, but now he will bind up our wounds.

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

In two days he will heal us; after three days he will raise us up so we can live in his presence.

3 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.'

Let's get to know the Lord, really strive to know him, and he will appear to us as surely as the sun will rise; he will come to us as certainly as the spring rains fall on the earth.”

4 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.

Ephraim, what shall I do with you? Judah, what shall I do with you? Your love disappears like mist at dawn; it vanishes like dew in the morning.

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

So I cut you down through the prophets; I killed you with my words. My judgment shines out like a light.

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

I want your true love, not your sacrifices; I want you to know me, not your burnt offerings.

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

But you, just like Adam, broke our agreement, there you were unfaithful to me.

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

Gilead is a city of evil people where footprints are tracked in blood.

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

Priests are like a gang of bandits, lying in wait to ambush travelers on the road. They commit murder in Shechem, carrying out wicked crimes.

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

I have seen in the house of Israel something totally disgusting: Ephraim engages in prostitution and Israel is sexually corrupt.

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

And as for you, Judah, your harvest-time has been set! When I restore the fortunes of my people,