Hosea 6
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 6
Steadfast Love Rather than Sacrifice Is What Pleases Me
1 [a]“Come, let us return to the Lord;
he has wounded us, but he will heal us;
he has struck us down, but he will bind up our wounds.
2 After two days he will revive us;
on the third day[b] he will raise us up
to live in his presence.
3 Let us know the Lord;
let us strive to know him.
His coming is as sure as the dawn;
he will come to us like a shower,
like the spring rains that water the earth.”
4 What can I do with you, Ephraim?
What can I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like a morning mist,
like the dew that quickly evaporates.
5 That is the reason why I cut them to pieces
by means of the prophets.
I have slaughtered them by the word of my mouth,
and my judgment goes forth like the dawn.
6 For steadfast love rather than sacrifice is what pleases me,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Their Wicked Deeds Are Constantly before My Eyes
7 But in their land[c] they broke the covenant;
it was there that they were unfaithful to me.
8 Gilead[d] is a city of evildoers,
stained with bloody footprints.
9 Like robbers waiting in ambush,
priests are banded together.
They commit murder on the road to Shechem,
perpetrating monstrous crimes.
10 I have witnessed a horrible thing
in the house of Israel.
There Ephraim engages in prostitution
and Israel is defiled.
11 And for you also, O Judah,
a harvest of reprisal has been designated.[e]
Footnotes
- Hosea 6:1 The passage refers to some crime greater than others and paints a picture of general wickedness. The heart of Israel is irremediably turned in on itself and can no longer be converted.
- Hosea 6:2 Two days . . . third day: that is, soon. God is merciful.
- Hosea 6:7 Their land: some think that Adam, a place on the right bank of the Jordan, is meant.
- Hosea 6:8 Gilead: across the Jordan.
- Hosea 6:11 The verse is outside its proper context.