| King James Bible | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. | 1Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, and He will heal us; He has wounded us, and He will bind up our wounds. |
| 2After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. | 2He will revive us after two days, and on the third day He will raise us up so we can live in His presence. |
| 3Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. | 3Let us strive to know the LORD. His appearance is as sure as the dawn. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the land. |
| 4O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. | 4What am I going to do with you, Ephraim? What am I going to do with you, Judah? Your loyalty is like the morning mist and like the early dew that vanishes. |
| 5Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. | 5This is why I have used the prophets to cut them down; I have killed them with the words of My mouth. My judgment strikes like lightning. |
| 6For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. | 6For I desire loyalty and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. |
| 7But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. | 7But they, like Adam, have violated the covenant; there they have betrayed Me. |
| 8Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood. | 8Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with bloody footprints. |
| 9And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness. | 9Like raiders who wait in ambush for someone, a band of priests murders on the road to Shechem. They commit atrocities. |
| 10I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled. | 10I have seen something horrible in the house of Israel: Ephraim's promiscuity is there; Israel is defiled. |
| 11Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people. | 11A harvest is also appointed for you, Judah. When I return My people from captivity, |
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