1“Come, let’s return to the LORD.

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

He has [a]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.”

4What 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 [b]shines.

6For I [c]desire loyalty rather than sacrifice,

And the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

7But like [d]Adam they have violated the covenant;

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.