Hosea 6

6¹ "Come, let us return to the Lord . He has torn us to pieces; now he will heal us. He has injured us; now he will bandage our wounds. ² In just a short time he will restore us, so that we may live in his presence. ³ Oh, that we might know the Lord ! Let us press on to know him. He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn or the coming of rains in early spring."

⁴ "O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?" asks the Lord . "For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight. ⁵ I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces- to slaughter you with my words, with judgments as inescapable as light. ⁶ I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings. ⁷ But like Adam, you broke my covenant and betrayed my trust. ⁸ "Gilead is a city of sinners, tracked with footprints of blood. ⁹ Priests form bands of robbers, waiting in ambush for their victims. They murder travelers along the road to Shechem and practice every kind of sin. ¹⁰ Yes, I have seen something horrible in Ephraim and Israel: My people are defiled by prostituting themselves with other gods! ¹¹ "O Judah, a harvest of punishment is also waiting for you, though I wanted to restore the fortunes of my people.