6:1 Come on, let’s renew our loyalty to the Eternal One! He tore us like a lion, but He’ll heal us; He wounded us, but He’ll bandage us.
6:2 He’ll bring us back to life after two days; He’ll raise us up on the third day, and we’ll live with Him.
6:3 So let’s know Him; let’s strive to know the Eternal. As surely as the sun rises, He’ll come out from His lair. As surely as the rains come each year— those spring rains that drench the earth—He’ll come back to us.
6:4 Eternal One: What am I supposed to do with you, Ephraim? What am I supposed to do with you, Judah? Your loyalty to Me is like fog in the morning, like dew that evaporates at sunrise.
6:5 This is why I cut them with the words of the prophets and destroyed them with the words of My mouth. My judgment went forth like the light of the rising sun.
6:6 For I want not animal sacrifices, but mercy. I don’t want burnt offerings; I want people to know Me as God!
6:7 They broke their covenant with Me, treated it as just a common human affair; they were unfaithful to Me there.
6:8 The city of Gilead is full of evil, murderous people. Their footprints are bloody.
6:9 As the priests travel together down the road, they’re like a band of robbers setting an ambush. They are like their ancestor Levi who committed murder at Shechem, deceiving the people by their treachery.
6:10 I’ve seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel: Ephraim engages in prostitution there by worshiping at other shrines. Israel pollutes itself through violence and idol worship.
6:11 But a harvest is set for you, too, Judah when I restore my people’s fortunes and return them from captivity.
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