Hosea 6

The people offer a shallow, superficial return to God, saying, "Come, let us return to the Lord, for He has torn, but He will heal us." God rejects their empty words, lamenting, "Your loyalty is like a morning cloud and like the early dew that passes away." God states His clear preference: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." God condemns the treachery in the land, noting that the priests are like a band of robbers, carrying out murder and shame.