Hosea 6 - A Call to Repentance, Impenitence of Israel and Judah

“Come, let us return to the Lord; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up. 2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. 3 Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.”

Impenitence of Israel and Judah

4 What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early. 5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my[a] judgment goes forth as the light. 6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

7 But at[b] Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me. 8 Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood. 9 As robbers lie in wait[c] for someone, so the priests are banded together;[d] they murder on the road to Shechem, they commit a monstrous crime. 10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim’s whoredom is there, Israel is defiled.

11 For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.

When I would restore the fortunes of my people,

Footnotes

a. Hosea 6:5 Gk Syr: Heb your

b. Hosea 6:7 Cn: Heb like

c. Hosea 6:9 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain

d. Hosea 6:9 Syr: Heb are a company

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

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