Hosea 6

The Response to God’s Rebuke

¹“Come, let’s return to the Lord .

For He has torn us, but He will heal us;

He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.

²“He will revive us after two days;

He will raise us up on the third day,

That we may live before Him.

³“So let’s learn, let’s press on to know the Lord .

His appearance is as sure as the dawn;

And He will come to us like the rain,

As the spring rain waters the earth.”

⁴¶What shall I do with you, Ephraim?

What shall I do with you, Judah?

For your loyalty is like a morning cloud,

And like the dew which goes away early.

⁵Therefore I have cut them in pieces by the prophets;

I have slain them by the words of My mouth;

And the judgments on you are like the light that shines.

⁶For I desire loyalty rather than sacrifice,[#6:6 Or take pleasure in]

And the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

⁷But like Adam they have violated the covenant;[#6:7 Or men]

There they have dealt treacherously with Me.

⁸Gilead is a city of wrongdoers,

Tracked with bloody footprints.

⁹And as a band of robbers lie in wait for a person,

So a band of priests murder on the way to Shechem;

Certainly they have committed an act of infamy.

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

Ephraim’s infidelity is there, Israel has defiled itself.

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

When I restore the fortunes of My people.