1 “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 dawnor 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 mistand 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 memore than I want burnt offerings.
7 But like Adam, you broke my covenantand 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 Shechemand 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.