¹ “Come, let us return to the Lord.
He has torn us to pieces
but he will heal us;
he has injured us
but he will bind up our wounds.
² After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will restore us,
that we may live in his presence.
³ 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,
like the spring rains that water the earth.”

⁴ “What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist,
like the early dew that disappears.
⁵ Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets,
I killed you with the words of my mouth—
then my judgments go forth like the sun.
⁶ For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
⁷ As at Adam, they have broken the covenant;
they were unfaithful to me there.
⁸ Gilead is a city of evildoers,
stained with footprints of blood.
⁹ As marauders lie in ambush for a victim,
so do bands of priests;
they murder on the road to Shechem,
carrying out their wicked schemes.
¹⁰ I have seen a horrible thing in Israel:
There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
Israel is defiled.

¹¹ “Also for you, Judah,
a harvest is appointed.
“Whenever I would restore the fortunes of my people,