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.