1“Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, 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 out 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^a and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

7But like Adam they transgressed the covenant;
there they dealt faithlessly with me.
8Gilead is a city of evildoers,
tracked with blood.
9As robbers lie in wait for a man,
so the priests band together;
they murder on the way to Shechem;
they commit villainy.
10In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;
Ephraim’s whoredom is there; Israel is defiled.

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

When I restore the fortunes of my people,