Hosea 6

Contemporary English Version

The Lord's People Speak

6 Let's return to the Lord.
    He has torn us to shreds,
but he will bandage our wounds
    and make us well.
²In two or three days
    he will heal us
and restore our strength
    that we may live with him.
³Let's do our best
    to know the Lord.
His coming is as certain
    as the morning sun;
he will refresh us like rain
renewing the earth
    in the springtime.

The Lord Speaks to Israel and Judah

⁴People of Israel and Judah,
    what can I do with you?
Your love for me disappears
more quickly than mist
    or dew at sunrise.
⁵That's why I slaughtered you
with the words
    of my prophets.
That's why my judgments blazed
    like the dawning sun.^[a]
⁶^(A) I'd rather for you to be faithful
and to know me
    than to offer sacrifices.

⁷At a place named Adam,
you^[b] betrayed me
    by breaking our agreement.
⁸Everyone in Gilead is evil;
your hands are stained
    with the blood of victims.^[c]
⁹You priests are like a gang
    of robbers in ambush.^[d]
On the road to Shechem^[e]
you murder and commit
    other horrible crimes.
¹⁰I have seen a terrible thing
    in Israel—
you are unfaithful
    and unfit to worship me.
¹¹People of Judah,
    your time is coming too.

The Lord Wants To Help Israel

I, the Lord, would like to make
my nation prosper again

Footnotes

6.5 That's why my … sun: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
6.7 At … you: Or “Like Adam, you” or “Each one of you.”
6.8 your hands … victims: This may refer to child sacrifice.
6.9 You … ambush: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
6.9 Shechem: This was one of the towns where people could run for safety, if they had accidentally killed someone (see Joshua 20.1-9).