| Berean Study Bible | New Living Translation |
| 1Come, 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 up our wounds. | 1“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. |
| 2After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence. | 2In just a short time he will restore us, so that we may live in his presence. |
| 3So 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. | 3Oh, 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.” |
| 4What 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. | 4“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. |
| 5Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth, and My judgments go forth like lightning. | 5I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces— to slaughter you with my words, with judgments as inescapable as light. |
| 6For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. | 6I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings. |
| 7But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there they were unfaithful to Me. | 7But like Adam, you broke my covenant and betrayed my trust. |
| 8Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with footprints of blood. | 8“Gilead is a city of sinners, tracked with footprints of blood. |
| 9Like raiders who lie in ambush, so does a band of priests; they murder on the way to Shechem; surely they have committed atrocities. | 9Priests form bands of robbers, waiting in ambush for their victims. They murder travelers along the road to Shechem and practice every kind of sin. |
| 10In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing: Ephraim practices prostitution there, and Israel is defiled. | 10Yes, I have seen something horrible in Ephraim and Israel: My people are defiled by prostituting themselves with other gods! |
| 11Also for you, O Judah, a harvest is appointed, when I restore My people from captivity. | 11“O Judah, a harvest of punishment is also waiting for you, though I wanted to restore the fortunes of my people. |
|
    |