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“Ephraim, what shall I do to you?
    Judah, what shall I do to you?
    For your love is like a morning cloud,
    and like the dew that disappears early.
Therefore I have cut them to pieces with the prophets;
    I killed them with the words of my mouth.
    Your judgments are like a flash of lightning.
For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice;
    and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

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The Lord’s First Lament

What am I going to do with you, Ephraim?(A)
What am I going to do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist(B)
and like the early dew that vanishes.
This is why I have used the prophets
to cut them down;[a](C)
I have killed them with the words from my mouth.
My judgment strikes like lightning.[b]
For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God(D) rather than burnt offerings.(E)

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Footnotes

  1. 6:5 Or have cut down the prophets
  2. 6:5 LXX, Syr, Tg; MT reads Your judgments go out as light