Hosea 5:8-6:6

New King James Version

⁸“Blow^(A) the ram’s horn in Gibeah,
The trumpet in Ramah!
^(B)Cry aloud at ^(C)Beth Aven,
‘Look behind you, O Benjamin!’
⁹Ephraim shall be desolate in the day of rebuke;
Among the tribes of Israel I make known what is sure.

¹⁰“The princes of Judah are like those who ^(D)remove a landmark;
I will pour out My wrath on them like water.
¹¹Ephraim is ^(E)oppressed and broken in judgment,
Because he willingly walked by ^(F)human precept.
¹²Therefore I will be to Ephraim like a moth,
And to the house of Judah ^(G)like rottenness.

¹³“When Ephraim saw his sickness,
And Judah saw his ^(H)wound,
Then Ephraim went ^(I)to Assyria
And sent to King Jareb;
Yet he cannot cure you,
Nor heal you of your wound.
¹⁴For ^(J)I will be like a lion to Ephraim,
And like a young lion to the house of Judah.
^(K)I, even I, will tear them and go away;
I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.
¹⁵I will return again to My place
Till they ^[a]acknowledge their offense.
Then they will seek My face;
In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”

A Call to Repentance

6 Come,^(L) and let us return to the Lord;
For ^(M)He has torn, but ^(N)He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will ^[b]bind us up.
²^(O)After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
³^(P)Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.
His going forth is established ^(Q)as the morning;
^(R)He will come to us ^(S)like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

Impenitence of Israel and Judah

⁴“O Ephraim, what shall I do to you?
O Judah, what shall I do to you?
For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud,
And like the early dew it goes away.
⁵Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by ^(T)the words of My mouth;
And ^[c]your judgments are like light that goes forth.
⁶For I desire ^(U)mercy^[d] and ^(V)not sacrifice,
And the ^(W)knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.