4. “Ephraim, what shall I do to you?Judah, what shall I do to you?For your love is like a morning cloud,and like the dew that disappears early.
5. Therefore I have cut them to pieces with the prophets;I killed them with the words of my mouth.Your judgements are like a flash of lightning.
6. For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice;and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
7. But they, like Adam, have broken the covenant.They were unfaithful to me, there.
8. Gilead is a city of those who work iniquity;it is stained with blood.
9. As gangs of robbers wait to ambush a man,so the company of priests murder on the path towards Shechem,committing shameful crimes.
10. In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing.There is prostitution in Ephraim.Israel is defiled.
11. “Also, Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you,when I restore the fortunes of my people.