6 Come, let us return to Adonai;
for he has torn, and he will heal us;
he has struck, and he will bind our wounds.
² After two days, he will revive us;
on the third day, he will raise us up;
and we will live in his presence.
³ Let us know, let us strive to know Adonai.
That he will come is as certain as morning;
he will come to us like the rain,
like the spring rains that water the earth.
⁴ “Efrayim, what should I do to you?
Y’hudah, what should I do to you?
For your ‘faithful love’ is like a morning cloud,
like dew that disappears quickly.
⁵ This is why I have cut them to pieces by the prophets,
slaughtered them with the words from my mouth —
the judgment on you shines out like light.
⁶ For what I desire is mercy, not sacrifices,
knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

⁷ “But they, just like men, have broken the covenant,
they have been faithless in dealing with me.
⁸ Gil‘ad is a city of criminals,
covered with bloody footprints;
⁹ just as bands of robbers wait to ambush someone,
so does a gang of cohanim.
They commit murder on the road to Sh’khem!
Their conduct is an outrage!
¹⁰ In the house of Isra’el
I have seen a horrible thing;
whoring is found there in Efrayim,
Isra’el is defiled.
¹¹ For you, too, Y’hudah,
a harvest will come!

“When I restore the fortunes of my people,