¹“Come, let us return to the Lord ;

for he has torn, that he may heal us;

he has stricken, 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 forth 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,[#Mt 9.13; 12.7.]

the knowledge of God, rather than burnt offerings.

⁷But at Adam they transgressed the covenant;[#6.7 Cn: Heb]

there they dealt faithlessly with me.

⁸Gilead is a city of evildoers,

tracked with blood.

⁹As robbers lie in wait for a man,[#6.9 Cn: Heb uncertain]

so the priests are banded together;

they murder on the way to Shechem,

yea, they commit villainy.

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

Ephraim's harlotry is there, Israel is defiled.

¹¹For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.

When I would restore the fortunes of my people,