CHAPTER 6
1“Come, let us return to the LORD,a
For it is he who has torn, but he will heal us;
he has struck down, but he will bind our wounds.
2He will revive us after two days;
on the third day* he will raise us up,b
to live in his presence.
3Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD;
as certain as the dawn is his coming.
He will come to us like the rain,
like spring rain that waters the earth.”c
4What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your loyalty is like morning mist,
like the dew that disappears early.
5For this reason I struck them down through the prophets,
I killed them by the words of my mouth;* d
my judgment shines forth like the light.
6For it is loyalty that I desire, not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.e
Further Crimes of Israel
7But they, at Adam,* violated the covenant;
there they betrayed me.
8Gilead* is a city of evildoers,
tracked with blood.
9Like brigands lying in wait
is the band of priests.
They murder on the road to Shechem,*
indeed they commit a monstrous crime.
10In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing:
there is found Ephraim’s prostitution,
Israel is defiled.
11For you also, Judah,
a harvest* has been appointed!
* [6:2] After two days; on the third day: presumptuous Israel expects that soon God will renew them (cf. Ez 37).
* [6:5] The word of God proclaimed by the prophets is effective, it accomplished what it promised: punishment.
* [6:7] At Adam: the violation of the covenant at Adam is mentioned nowhere else in the Bible. The place Adam, the location of which is unknown, may be referred to in Jos 3:16.
* [6:8] Gilead: city in Transjordan (Gn 31:46–48; 2 Kgs 15:25).
* [6:9] Shechem: an important ancient religious and political center (Jos 24).
* [6:11] Harvest: God’s judgment, when Judah will reap what it has sown.
b. [6:2] Lk 24:7, 46; 1 Cor 15:4.
d. [6:5] Is 11:4; 49:2; Jer 5:14; Heb 4:12–13.
e. [6:6] 1 Sm 15:22; Am 5:22–24; Mi 6:6–8; Eccl 4:17; Mt 9:13; 12:7.
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