^1. «COME, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has [1] 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 us know, let us press on to know the LORD. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.»

^4. What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your [2] loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early.

^5. Therefore I have hewn 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 goes forth.

^6. For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

^7. But like [3] Adam they have transgressed the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously against Me.

^8. Gilead is a city of wrongdoers, Tracked with bloody footprints.

^9. And as raiders wait for a man, So a band of priests murder on the way to Shechem; Surely they have committed [4] crime.

^10. In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim's harlotry is there, Israel has defiled itself.

^11. Also, O Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you, When I restore the fortunes of My people.