# Chapter 6
1 Come, let’s return to the Lord.
For he has torn us,
and he will heal us;
he has wounded us,
and he will bind up our wounds.
2 He will revive us after two days,
and on the third day he will raise us up
so we can live in his presence.
3 Let’s strive to know the Lord.
His appearance is as sure as the dawn.
He will come to us like the rain,
like the spring showers that water the land.
4 What am I going to do with you, Ephraim?
What am I going to do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist
and like the early dew that vanishes.
5 This is why I have used the prophets
to cut them down;
I have killed them with the words from my mouth.
My judgment strikes like lightning.
6 For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 But they, like Adam, have violated the covenant;
there they have betrayed me.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,
tracked with bloody footprints.
9 Like raiders who wait in ambush for someone,
a band of priests murders on the road to Shechem.
They commit atrocities.
10 I have seen something horrible in the house of Israel:
Ephraim’s promiscuity is there; Israel is defiled.
11 A harvest is also appointed for you, Judah.
When I restore the fortunes of my people,