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Israel Rejected the Lord’s Promise

Let’s return to the Lord.
Even though he has torn us to pieces,
he will heal us.
Even though he has wounded us,
he will bandage our wounds.
After two days he will revive us.
On the third day he will raise us
so that we may live in his presence.
Let’s learn about the Lord.
Let’s get to know the Lord.
He will come to us as sure as the morning comes.
He will come to us like the autumn rains and the spring rains
that water the ground.

“What should I do with you, Ephraim?
What should I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like fog in the morning.
It disappears as quickly as the morning dew.
That is why I cut ⌞you⌟ down by sending the prophets.
I killed you with the words from my mouth.
My judgments shined on you like light.
I want your loyalty, not your sacrifices.
I want you to know me, not to give me burnt offerings.

“Like Adam, you rejected the promise.[a]
You were unfaithful to me.
Gilead is a city filled with troublemakers.
It is stained with bloody footprints.
The priests are like gangs of robbers who lie in ambush for a person.
They murder on the road to Shechem.
Certainly, they have committed a crime.

10 “I have seen horrible things in the nation of Israel.
Ephraim is acting like a prostitute,
and Israel is unclean.[b]

11 “Yet, Judah, I have set a harvest time for you
when I bring my people back from captivity.

Footnotes

  1. 6:7 Or “You have walked all over my promise as if it were dirt.”
  2. 6:10 Unclean   ” refers to anything that Moses’ Teachings say is not presentable to God.

Israel Unrepentant

“Come, let us return(A) to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces(B)
    but he will heal us;(C)
he has injured us
    but he will bind up our wounds.(D)
After two days he will revive us;(E)
    on the third day(F) he will restore(G) 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,(H)
    like the spring rains that water the earth.(I)

“What can I do with you, Ephraim?(J)
    What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
    like the early dew that disappears.(K)
Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
    I killed you with the words of my mouth(L)
    then my judgments go forth like the sun.[a](M)
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,(N)
    and acknowledgment(O) of God rather than burnt offerings.(P)
As at Adam,[b] they have broken the covenant;(Q)
    they were unfaithful(R) to me there.
Gilead is a city of evildoers,(S)
    stained with footprints of blood.
As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,(T)
    so do bands of priests;
they murder(U) on the road to Shechem,
    carrying out their wicked schemes.(V)
10 I have seen a horrible(W) thing in Israel:
    There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
    Israel is defiled.(X)

11 “Also for you, Judah,
    a harvest(Y) is appointed.

“Whenever I would restore the fortunes(Z) of my people,

Footnotes

  1. Hosea 6:5 The meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain.
  2. Hosea 6:7 Or Like Adam; or Like human beings