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15 Then I'll return to my temple
until they confess their guilt
    and worship me,
until they are desperate
    and beg for my help.

The Lord's People Speak

Let's return to the Lord.
    He has torn us to shreds,
but he will bandage our wounds
    and make us well.
In two or three days
    he will heal us
and restore our strength
    that we may live with him.
Let's do our best
    to know the Lord.
His coming is as certain
    as the morning sun;
he will refresh us like rain
renewing the earth
    in the springtime.

The Lord Speaks to Israel and Judah

People of Israel and Judah,
    what can I do with you?
Your love for me disappears
more quickly than mist
    or dew at sunrise.
That's why I slaughtered you
with the words
    of my prophets.
That's why my judgments blazed
    like the dawning sun.[a]
(A) I'd rather for you to be faithful
and to know me
    than to offer sacrifices.

Footnotes

  1. 6.5 That's why my … sun: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.

15 Then I will return to my lair
    until they have borne their guilt
    and seek my face –
in their misery
    they will earnestly seek me.’

Israel unrepentant

‘Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces
    but he will heal us;
he has injured us
    but he will bind up our wounds.
After two days he will revive us;
    on the third day he will restore us,
    that we may live in his presence.
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.’

‘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.
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.[a]
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
    and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 6:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.