¹“Come ! Let ’s return to the LORD ;

for he has torn us to pieces ,

and he will heal us ;

he has injured us ,

and he will bind up our wounds .

²After two days he will revive us .

On the third day he will raise us up ,

and we will live before him .

³Let’s acknowledge the LORD .

Let’s press on to know the LORD .

As surely as the sun rises,

the LORD will appear.

He will come to us like the rain ,

like the spring rain that waters the earth.”

⁴“Ephraim, what shall I do to you ?

Judah , what shall I do to you ?

For your love is like a morning cloud ,

and like the dew that disappears early .

⁵Therefore I have cut them to pieces with the prophets ;

I killed them with the words of my mouth .

Your judgements are like a flash of lightning.

⁶For I desire mercy , and not sacrifice ;

and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings .

⁷But they , like Adam, have broken the covenant .

They were unfaithful to me there .

⁸Gilead is a city of those who work iniquity;

it is stained with blood .

⁹As gangs of robbers wait to ambush a man,

so the company of priests murder on the path towards Shechem ,

committing shameful crimes.

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

There is prostitution in Ephraim.

Israel is defiled .

¹¹“Also , Judah , there is a harvest appointed for you ,

when I restore the fortunes of my people .