The Response to God’s Rebuke
1 “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.
2 “He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him.
3 “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.”
4 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.
5 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.
6 For I desire loyalty rather than sacrifice, And the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 But like Adam they have violated the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously with Me.
8 Gilead is a city of wrongdoers, Tracked with bloody footprints.
9 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.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim’s infidelity is there, Israel has defiled itself.
11 Also, Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you, When I restore the fortunes of My people.