A Call to Repentance
1Come, let’s 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.
2He will revive us after two days,
and on the third day he will raise us up
so we can live in his presence.
3Let’s 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.
The Lord’s First Lament
4What am I going to do with you, Ephraim?
What am I going to do with you, Judah?
Your love is like the morning mist
and like the early dew that vanishes.
5This is why I have used the prophets
to cut them down;
I have killed them with the words from my mouth.
My judgment strikes like lightning.
6For I desire faithful love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7But they, like Adam, have violated the covenant;
there they have betrayed me.
8Gilead is a city of evildoers,
tracked with bloody footprints.
9Like raiders who wait in ambush for someone,
a band of priests murders on the road to Shechem.
They commit atrocities.
10I have seen something horrible in the house of Israel:
Ephraim’s promiscuity is there; Israel is defiled.
11A harvest is also appointed for you, Judah.
When I restore the fortunes of my people,