Hosea 6:4-11

New Living Translation

⁴ “O Israel^[a] and Judah,
    what should I do with you?” asks the Lord.
“For your love vanishes like the morning mist
    and disappears like dew in the sunlight.
⁵ I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces—
    to slaughter you with my words,
    with judgments as inescapable as light.
⁶ I want you to show love,^[b]
    not offer sacrifices.
I want you to know me^[c]
    more than I want burnt offerings.
⁷ But like Adam,^[d] you broke my covenant
    and betrayed my trust.

⁸ “Gilead is a city of sinners,
    tracked with footprints of blood.
⁹ Priests form bands of robbers,
    waiting in ambush for their victims.
They murder travelers along the road to Shechem
    and practice every kind of sin.
¹⁰ Yes, I have seen something horrible in Ephraim and Israel:
    My people are defiled by prostituting themselves with other gods!

¹¹ “O Judah, a harvest of punishment is also waiting for you,
    though I wanted to restore the fortunes of my people.