| Holman Christian Standard Bible | NET Bible |
| 1Come, let us 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. | 1"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! |
| 2He will revive us after two days, and on the third day He will raise us up so we can live in His presence. | 2He will restore us in a very short time; he will heal us in a little while, so that we may live in his presence. |
| 3Let us 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. | 3So 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." |
| 4What am I going to do with you, Ephraim? What am I going to do with you, Judah? Your loyalty is like the morning mist and like the early dew that vanishes. | 4What 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! |
| 5This is why I have used the prophets to cut them down; I have killed them with the words of My mouth. My judgment strikes like lightning. | 5Therefore, 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. |
| 6For I desire loyalty and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. | 6For I delight in faithfulness, not simply in sacrifice; I delight in acknowledging God, not simply in whole burnt offerings. |
| 7But they, like Adam, have violated the covenant; there they have betrayed Me. | 7At Adam they broke the covenant; Oh how they were unfaithful to me! |
| 8Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with bloody footprints. | 8Gilead is a city full of evildoers; its streets are stained with bloody footprints! |
| 9Like raiders who wait in ambush for someone, a band of priests murders on the road to Shechem. They commit atrocities. | 9The 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! |
| 10I have seen something horrible in the house of Israel: Ephraim's promiscuity is there; Israel is defiled. | 10I have seen a disgusting thing in the temple of Israel: there Ephraim practices temple prostitution and Judah defiles itself. |
| 11A harvest is also appointed for you, Judah. When I return My people from captivity, | 11I have appointed a time to reap judgment for you also, O Judah! If Israel Would Repent of Sin, God Would Relent of Judgment Whenever I want to restore the fortunes of my people, |
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