UST HOS Chapter 6

6 They will say to each other, “Come, let us start obeying Yahweh again!

Although he is the one who has hurt us, he will heal us;

he has wounded us, but he will bandage our wounds.

2 In a very short time he will make us strong again;

in just a few days he will restore us

so that we may live in his presence.

3 We need to know Yahweh; let us try hard to do that.

He will certainly help us, as surely as the dawn comes every morning.

He will restore us again like the rain,

as the spring rain restores the land.”

4 Yahweh says, “You people of Ephraim and you people of Judah,

I do not know what more I can do with you!

You say that you will faithfully love me, but you love me about as long as the mist stays in the morning;

you love me about as long as the dew stays that is gone early in the day.

5 That is why I sent my prophets to tell you to reform yourselves;

the messages that I told them to speak warned you that soldiers were coming to kill you.

What I have justly decided to do will happen as surely as the sun will shine.

6 I do all of this because I want you to faithfully love me rather than to offer me sacrifices;

I want you to truly know me rather than to give me burnt offerings.

7 However, on their part, they broke my covenant, just as Adam did;

in that way they were unfaithful to me.

8 Gilead is a city full of people who do wicked things.

People murder others there so often, it is as though their footprints leave trails of blood everywhere.

9 The priests are like bandits who lie in wait to ambush a man;

they join together to murder people on the road to Shechem.

Indeed, they have done terrible and shameful things.

10 Among the people of Israel I have seen something horrible:

the people of Ephraim stopped worshiping me and became prostitutes.

Yes, the people of Israel made themselves unacceptable to me by sinning.

People of Judah, I have also appointed a time when I will judge you.

Whenever I consider enabling my people to prosper again,