6 Come, and let us return unto the Lord: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

² After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.

³ Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

⁴ O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.

⁵ Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth.

⁶ For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

⁷ But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.

⁸ Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood.

⁹ And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.

¹⁰ I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.

¹¹ Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.

7 When I would have healed Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim was discovered, and the wickedness of Samaria: for they commit falsehood; and the thief cometh in, and the troop of robbers spoileth without.

² And they consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness: now their own doings have beset them about; they are before my face.

³ They make the king glad with their wickedness, and the princes with their lies.

⁴ They are all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, who ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.

⁵ In the day of our king the princes have made him sick with bottles of wine; he stretched out his hand with scorners.

⁶ For they have made ready their heart like an oven, whiles they lie in wait: their baker sleepeth all the night; in the morning it burneth as a flaming fire.

⁷ They are all hot as an oven, and have devoured their judges; all their kings are fallen: there is none among them that calleth unto me.

⁸ Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.

⁹ Strangers have devoured his strength, and he knoweth it not: yea, gray hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knoweth not.

¹⁰ And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for all this.

¹¹ Ephraim also is like a silly dove without heart: they call to Egypt, they go to Assyria.

¹² When they shall go, I will spread my net upon them; I will bring them down as the fowls of the heaven; I will chastise them, as their congregation hath heard.

¹³ Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.

¹⁴ And they have not cried unto me with their heart, when they howled upon their beds: they assemble themselves for corn and wine, and they rebel against me.

¹⁵ Though I have bound and strengthened their arms, yet do they imagine mischief against me.

¹⁶ They return, but not to the most High: they are like a deceitful bow: their princes shall fall by the sword for the rage of their tongue: this shall be their derision in the land of Egypt.

8 Set the trumpet to thy mouth. He shall come as an eagle against the house of the Lord, because they have transgressed my covenant, and trespassed against my law.

² Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.

³ Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.

⁴ They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.

⁵ Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?

⁶ For from Israel was it also: the workman made it; therefore it is not God: but the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

⁷ For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk; the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up.

⁸ Israel is swallowed up: now shall they be among the Gentiles as a vessel wherein is no pleasure.

⁹ For they are gone up to Assyria, a wild ass alone by himself: Ephraim hath hired lovers.

¹⁰ Yea, though they have hired among the nations, now will I gather them, and they shall sorrow a little for the burden of the king of princes.

¹¹ Because Ephraim hath made many altars to sin, altars shall be unto him to sin.

¹² I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.

¹³ They sacrifice flesh for the sacrifices of mine offerings, and eat it; but the Lord accepteth them not; now will he remember their iniquity, and visit their sins: they shall return to Egypt.

¹⁴ For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.

9 Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people: for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, thou hast loved a reward upon every cornfloor.

² The floor and the winepress shall not feed them, and the new wine shall fail in her.

³ They shall not dwell in the Lord's land; but Ephraim shall return to Egypt, and they shall eat unclean things in Assyria.

⁴ They shall not offer wine offerings to the Lord, neither shall they be pleasing unto him: their sacrifices shall be unto them as the bread of mourners; all that eat thereof shall be polluted: for their bread for their soul shall not come into the house of the Lord.

⁵ What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the Lord?

⁶ For, lo, they are gone because of destruction: Egypt shall gather them up, Memphis shall bury them: the pleasant places for their silver, nettles shall possess them: thorns shall be in their tabernacles.

⁷ The days of visitation are come, the days of recompence are come; Israel shall know it: the prophet is a fool, the spiritual man is mad, for the multitude of thine iniquity, and the great hatred.

⁸ The watchman of Ephraim was with my God: but the prophet is a snare of a fowler in all his ways, and hatred in the house of his God.

⁹ They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah: therefore he will remember their iniquity, he will visit their sins.

¹⁰ I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness; I saw your fathers as the firstripe in the fig tree at her first time: but they went to Baalpeor, and separated themselves unto that shame; and their abominations were according as they loved.

¹¹ As for Ephraim, their glory shall fly away like a bird, from the birth, and from the womb, and from the conception.

¹² Though they bring up their children, yet will I bereave them, that there shall not be a man left: yea, woe also to them when I depart from them!

¹³ Ephraim, as I saw Tyrus, is planted in a pleasant place: but Ephraim shall bring forth his children to the murderer.

¹⁴ Give them, O Lord: what wilt thou give? give them a miscarrying womb and dry breasts.

¹⁵ All their wickedness is in Gilgal: for there I hated them: for the wickedness of their doings I will drive them out of mine house, I will love them no more: all their princes are revolters.

¹⁶ Ephraim is smitten, their root is dried up, they shall bear no fruit: yea, though they bring forth, yet will I slay even the beloved fruit of their womb.

¹⁷ My God will cast them away, because they did not hearken unto him: and they shall be wanderers among the nations.

¹ The elder unto the wellbeloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.

² Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.

³ For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth.

⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

⁵ Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;

⁶ Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:

⁷ Because that for his name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles.

⁸ We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.

⁹ I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.

¹⁰ Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the church.

¹¹ Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God: but he that doeth evil hath not seen God.

¹² Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself: yea, and we also bear record; and ye know that our record is true.

¹³ I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee:

¹⁴ But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name.

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126 When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream.

² Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them.

³ The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.

⁴ Turn again our captivity, O Lord, as the streams in the south.

⁵ They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

⁶ He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.

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¹² If a ruler hearken to lies, all his servants are wicked.

¹³ The poor and the deceitful man meet together: the Lord lighteneth both their eyes.

¹⁴ The king that faithfully judgeth the poor, his throne shall be established for ever.

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