New Living Translation

1 “Come, let us return to the LORD.<br>He has torn us to pieces;<br>now he will heal us.<br>He has injured us;<br>now he will bandage our wounds.<br> 2 In just a short time he will restore us,<br>so that we may live in his presence.<br> 3 Oh, that we might know the LORD!<br>Let us press on to know him.<br>He will respond to us as surely as the arrival of dawn<br>or the coming of rains in early spring.”<br> 4 “O Israel and Judah,<br>what should I do with you?” asks the LORD.<br>“For your love vanishes like the morning mist<br>and disappears like dew in the sunlight.<br> 5 I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces —<br>to slaughter you with my words,<br>with judgments as inescapable as light.<br> 6 I want you to show love,<br>not offer sacrifices.<br>I want you to know me<br>more than I want burnt offerings.<br> 7 But like Adam, you broke my covenant<br>and betrayed my trust.<br> 8 “Gilead is a city of sinners,<br>tracked with footprints of blood.<br> 9 Priests form bands of robbers,<br>waiting in ambush for their victims.<br>They murder travelers along the road to Shechem<br>and practice every kind of sin.<br> 10 Yes, I have seen something horrible in Ephraim and Israel:<br>My people are defiled by prostituting themselves with other gods!<br> 11 “O Judah, a harvest of punishment is also waiting for you,<br>though I wanted to restore the fortunes of my people.<br>