Israel Chastised

1“Come, let us return to Yahweh.

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

He has struck us, but He will bandage us.

2He will make us alive after two days;

He will raise us up on the third day,

That we may live before Him.

3So let us know, let us pursue to know Yahweh.

His going forth is established as the dawn;

And He will come to us like the rain,

Like the [†]late rain watering the earth.”

4What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?

What shall I do with you, O Judah?

For your lovingkindness is like a morning cloud

And like the dew which goes away early.

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

I have killed them by the words of My mouth;

And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth.

6For I delight in lovingkindness rather than sacrifice,

And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

7But like [†]Adam they have trespassed against the covenant;

There they have dealt treacherously against Me.

8Gilead is a city of workers of iniquity,

With a track of blood.

9And as raiders wait for a man,

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

Surely they have committed lewdness.

10In the house of Israel I have seen an appalling thing;

Ephraim’s harlotry is there; Israel has defiled itself.

11Also, O Judah, there is a harvest set for you

When I restore the fortunes of My people,