CHAPTER 6
Come,
let us return
to
the LORD.
For
He
has torn us to pieces,
but He will heal us;
He has wounded us,
but He will bind us up.
After two days
He will revive us;
on the third
day
He will raise us up,
that we may live
in His presence.
So let us know—
let us press
on to know
the LORD.
As surely as
the sun rises,
He will appear;
He will come
to us
like the rain,
like the spring showers
that water
the earth.
What
shall I do
with you,
O Ephraim?
What
shall I do
with you,
O Judah?
For your loyalty
is like a morning
mist,
like the early
dew
that vanishes.
Therefore
I have hewn them
by the prophets;
I have slain them
by the words
of My mouth,
and My judgments
go forth
like lightning.
Like raiders
who lie in ambush,
so does a band
of priests;
they murder
on the way
to Shechem;
surely
they have committed
atrocities.
In the house
of Israel
I have seen
a horrible thing:
There
Ephraim
practices prostitution
and Israel
is defiled.