1. ‘Come, let us return to the Lord.He has torn us to piecesbut he will heal us;he has injured usbut he will bind up our wounds.
2. After two days he will revive us;on the third day he will restore us,that we may live in his presence.
3. Let us acknowledge the Lord;let us press on to acknowledge him.As surely as the sun rises,he will appear;he will come to us like the winter rains,like the spring rains that water the earth.’
4. ‘What can I do with you, Ephraim?What can I do with you, Judah?Your love is like the morning mist,like the early dew that disappears.
5. Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,I killed you with the words of my mouth –then my judgments go forth like the sun.
6. For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
7. As at Adam, they have broken the covenant;they were unfaithful to me there.
8. Gilead is a city of evildoers,stained with footprints of blood.
9. As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,so do bands of priests;they murder on the road to Shechem,carrying out their wicked schemes.
10. I have seen a horrible thing in Israel:there Ephraim is given to prostitution,Israel is defiled.
11. ‘Also for you, Judah,a harvest is appointed.‘Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,