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1 “Come, let us return to Yahweh. For he has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us; he has injured us, but he will bandage our wounds.
2 After two days he will revive us; he will raise us up on the third day, and we will live before him.
3 Let us know Yahweh; let us press on to know Yahweh. His coming out is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the land.”
4 Ephraim, what will I do with you? Judah, what will I do with you? Your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early.
5 So I have cut them to pieces by the prophets, I have killed them with the words of my mouth. Your decrees are like the light that shines out.
6 For I desire faithfulness and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
7 Like Adam they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers with footprints of blood.
9 As gangs of robbers wait for someone, so the priests band together to commit murder on the way to Shechem; they have committed shameful crimes.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim’s prostitution is there, and Israel has become unclean.
11 For you also, Judah, a harvest has been appointed, when I will restore the fortunes of my people.
The Book of Hosea