1 Come, let us turn back to the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Restorer}; for it is He who has torn us {taraf: violent rending}, yet He will heal us; He has struck us, yet He will bind us up.
2 He {YHWH, Merciful Restorer} will give us life after two days; on the third day He will raise us up {qum: lift again}, and we shall live before Him.
3 And let us know; let us pursue{nirdəfah: keep seeking} to know the LORD {YHWH, Self-Making Known}. Like the dawn, His going out is established, and He will come to us like the rain, like the latter rain that waters{yoreh: soaks land} the earth.
4 What am I {YHWH, Covenant Prosecutor} to do about you, Ephraim? What am I to do about you, Judah? Your loyal love {chesed: pledged devotion} is like a cloud at dawn, and like dew that goes away early.
5 Therefore I {YHWH, Covenant Judge} have hewn them by the prophets {neviim: warning heralds}; I have slain them by the utterances of My mouth, and Your judgments go out as light.
6 For I have desired mercy{chesed: loyal love} rather than sacrifice, and knowledge of God{Elohim, Covenant Judge} more than burnt offerings.
7 But they were like Adam: they overstepped the covenant; there they acted treacherously{bagdu: Covenant Treachery} against Me{God, Wronged Partner}.
8 Gilead {gilad: Transjordan region} is a city of workers of iniquity {aven: corrupt acts}, marked with blood.
9 And like marauders {gedudim: raiding bands} lying in ambush for a man, so the company of priests murders along the road toward Shechem, for they have done outrage {zimmah: wicked plotting}.
10 In the house of Israel, I saw horror{hsa'aruriyah: vile outrage}, even a horrifying thing; there is whoredom for Ephraim, and Israel has been defiled{nitma: ritually tainted}.
11 Judah too—a harvest {katsir: judgment season} is allotted for you, when I {YHWH, Just Judge} turn back My people’s captivity.