Hosea Chapter 6
Israel and Judah Unrepentant
1 “They’ll say, ‘Let’s return to Yahveh.
He has torn us, but he’ll heal us;
he has wounded us, but he’ll bandage us up.
2 He’ll revive us in two days,
and raise us up the third,
so we can live in his presence.
3 So let’s press on to know Yahveh.
He’ll respond to us as sure as dawn comes;
he’ll come to us like rain,
like the spring rain that waters the ground.’
Hos 6:1-3
4 “What am I going to do with you, Ephraim,
or with you, Judah?
Your loyalty is like a morning cloud,
like dew that evaporates early.
5 I’ve cut both of you up in pieces by the prophets;
I’ve slain you with my words;
the condemnations on you are as inescapable as light.
6 I delight in loyalty more than sacrifice,
in knowing me more than in burnt offerings.
7 Like Adam you’ve broken covenant
and dealt deceitfully with me.
8 “Gilead is a city of sinners,
tracked with bloody footprints.
9 Like raiders waiting for victims,
a band of priests commits murder on the way to Shechem;
and every shameful crime imaginable.
10 I’ve seen a horrible thing in Israel:
Ephraim’s prostitution, Israel’s self-defilement.
11 Judah, I’ve appointed a harvest time for you
when I restore my people’s fortunes.
Hos 6:4-11