Chapter 6

Hosea

1“Come, let us return to the LORD;for he has torn us, that he may heal us;he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.2After two days he will revive us;on the third day he will raise us up,that we may live before him.3Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD;his going out is sure as the dawn;he will come to us as the showers,as the spring rains that water the earth.”4What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?What shall I do with you, O Judah?Your love is like a morning cloud,like the dew that goes early away.5Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;I have slain them by the words of my mouth,and my judgment goes forth as the light.6For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.7But like Adam they transgressed the covenant;there they dealt faithlessly with me.8Gilead is a city of evildoers,tracked with blood.9As robbers lie in wait for a man,so the priests band together;they murder on the way to Shechem;they commit villainy.10In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;Ephraim’s whoredom is there; Israel is defiled.11For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.When I restore the fortunes of my people,

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