Hosea 6:1-11 - Compare All Versions

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“Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.” “What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears. Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth— then my judgments go forth like the sun. For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. As at Adam, they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there. Gilead is a city of evildoers, stained with footprints of blood. As marauders lie in ambush for a victim, so do bands of priests; they murder on the road to Shechem, carrying out their wicked schemes. I have seen a horrible thing in Israel: There Ephraim is given to prostitution, Israel is defiled. “Also for you, Judah, a harvest is appointed.

“Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and 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 before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the LORD; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.” What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away. Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me. Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood. As robbers lie in wait for a man, so the priests band together; they murder on the way to Shechem; they commit villainy. In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim’s whoredom is there; Israel is defiled. For you also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed.

“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. In just a short time he will restore us, so that we may live in his presence. 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 dawn or the coming of rains in early spring.” “O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?” asks the LORD. “For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight. I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces— to slaughter you with my words, with judgments as inescapable as light. I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings. But like Adam, you broke my covenant and betrayed my trust. “Gilead is a city of sinners, tracked with footprints of blood. Priests form bands of robbers, waiting in ambush for their victims. They murder travelers along the road to Shechem and practice every kind of sin. Yes, I have seen something horrible in Ephraim and Israel: My people are defiled by prostituting themselves with other gods! “O Judah, a harvest of punishment is also waiting for you, though I wanted to restore the fortunes of my people.

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.  He will revive us after two days,  and on the third day he will raise us up so we can live in his presence.  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. LORD 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. 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.  For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God  rather than burnt offerings.  But they, like Adam,  have violated the covenant;  there they have betrayed me.  Gilead is a city of evildoers,  tracked with bloody footprints.  Like raiders who wait in ambush for someone,  a band of priests murders on the road to Shechem.  They commit atrocities.  I have seen something horrible  in the house of Israel: Ephraim’s promiscuity is there;  Israel is defiled. A harvest is also appointed for you, Judah.

Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth. O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away. Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood. And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness. I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled. Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.

Come, and let us return to the LORD; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, 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 sight. Let us know, Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD. His going forth is established as the morning; He will come to us like the rain, Like the latter and former rain to the earth. “O Ephraim, what shall I do to you? O Judah, what shall I do to you? For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud, And like the early dew it goes away. Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And your judgments are like light that goes forth. For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. “But like men they transgressed the covenant; There they dealt treacherously with Me. Gilead is a city of evildoers And defiled with blood. As bands of robbers lie in wait for a man, So the company of priests murder on the way to Shechem; Surely they commit lewdness. I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel: There is the harlotry of Ephraim; Israel is defiled. Also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed for you, When I return the captives of My people.

“Come on, let’s go back to GOD. He hurt us, but he’ll heal us. He hit us hard, but he’ll put us right again. In a couple of days we’ll feel better. By the third day he’ll have made us brand-new, Alive and on our feet, fit to face him. We’re ready to study GOD, eager for God-knowledge. As sure as dawn breaks, so sure is his daily arrival. He comes as rain comes, as spring rain refreshing the ground.” * * * “What am I to do with you, Ephraim? What do I make of you, Judah? Your declarations of love last no longer than morning mist and predawn dew. That’s why I use prophets to shake you to attention, why my words cut you to the quick: To wake you up to my judgment blazing like light. I’m after love that lasts, not more religion. I want you to know GOD, not go to more prayer meetings. You broke the covenant—just like Adam! You broke faith with me—ungrateful wretches! “Gilead has become Crime City— blood on the sidewalks, blood on the streets. It used to be robbers who mugged pedestrians. Now it’s gangs of priests Assaulting worshipers on their way to Shechem. Nothing is sacred to them. “I saw a shocking thing in the country of Israel: Ephraim worshiping in a religious whorehouse, and Israel in the mud right there with him. “You’re as bad as the worst of them, Judah. You’ve been sowing wild oats. Now it’s harvest time.”

“Come, let’s return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. “He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him. “So let’s learn, let’s press on to know the LORD. His appearance is as sure as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, As the spring rain waters the earth.” ¶What shall I do with you, Ephraim? What shall I do with you, Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud, And like the dew which goes away early. Therefore I have cut them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that shines. For I desire loyalty rather than sacrifice, And the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But like Adam they have violated the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously with Me. Gilead is a city of wrongdoers, Tracked with bloody footprints. And as a band of robbers lie in wait for a person, So a band of priests murder on the way to Shechem; Certainly they have committed an act of infamy. In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim’s infidelity is there, Israel has defiled itself. Also, Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you, When I restore the fortunes of My people.

“Come and let us return [in repentance] to the LORD, For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us. “After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up That we may live before Him. [Is 26:19; Ezek 37:1-10] “So let us know and become personally acquainted with Him; let us press on to know and understand fully the [greatness of the] LORD [to honor, heed, and deeply cherish Him]. His appearing is prepared and is as certain as the dawn, And He will come to us [in salvation] like the [heavy] rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.” ORD ¶O Ephraim, what shall I do with you? O Judah, what shall I do with you? For your [wavering] loyalty and kindness are [transient] like the morning cloud And like the dew that goes away early. Therefore, I have hewn them in pieces by [the words of] the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; My judgments [pronounced upon them by the prophets] are like the light that shines forth [obvious to all]. For I desire and delight in [steadfast] loyalty [faithfulness in the covenant relationship], rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. [Matt 9:13; 12:7] But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously against Me. Gilead is a city of wrongdoers; It is tracked with bloody footprints. And as bands of robbers [lie in] wait for a man, So a band of priests murder on the road toward Shechem [covering their crimes in that city of refuge]; Certainly they have committed crimes and outrages. I have seen a horrible thing [sins of every kind] in the house of Israel! Ephraim’s prostitution (idolatry) is there; Israel has defiled itself. Also, O Judah, there is a harvest [of divine judgment] appointed for you, When I restore the fortunes of My people [who have been slaves to the misery of sin].

“Come on! Let’s return to the LORD! He himself has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us! He has injured us, but he will bandage our wounds! He will restore us in a very short time; he will heal us in a little while, so that we may live in his presence. So let us acknowledge him! Let us seek to acknowledge the LORD! He will come to our rescue as certainly as the appearance of the dawn, as certainly as the winter rain comes, as certainly as the spring rain that waters the land.” What am I going to do with you, O Ephraim? What am I going to do with you, O Judah? For your faithfulness is as fleeting as the morning mist; it disappears as quickly as dawn’s dew! Therefore, I will certainly cut you into pieces at the hands of the prophets; I will certainly kill you in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment; for my judgment will come forth like the light of the dawn. For I delight in faithfulness, not simply in sacrifice; I delight in acknowledging God, not simply in whole burnt offerings. At Adam they broke the covenant; Oh how they were unfaithful to me! Gilead is a city full of evildoers; its streets are stained with bloody footprints! The company of priests is like a gang of robbers, lying in ambush to pounce on a victim. They commit murder on the road to Shechem; they have done heinous crimes! I have seen a disgusting thing in the temple of Israel: there Ephraim practices temple prostitution and Judah defiles itself. I have appointed a time to reap judgment for you also, O Judah!