¹⁵I will return again to my place until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face. In their distress they will beg my favor:

6“Come, let us return to the Lord; for it is he who has torn, and he will heal us; he has struck down, and he will bind us up. ²After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. ³Let us know, let us press on to know the Lord; his appearing is as sure as the dawn; he will come to us like the showers, like the spring rains that water the earth.”

⁴What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes away early. ⁵Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. ⁶For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.