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The Prophets · Old Testament

Hosea 6

Hosea 6: a call to return, and goodness that fades like the morning cloud

General context

The chapter opens with a plural voice: "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." After two days he will revive, on the third day raise them up, and they will know "if we follow on to know the Lord," whose going forth is prepared as the morning and who will come "as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." The Lord answers with questions: "O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee?" Their goodness is "as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away." So he has hewed them by the prophets and slain them by the words of his mouth. "For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." They "like men have transgressed the covenant" and dealt treacherously. Gilead is "a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood." As robbers wait for a man, "so the company of priests murder in the way by consent." The speaker has seen "an horrible thing in the house of Israel": Ephraim's whoredom and Israel's defilement. The chapter closes turning to Judah: "he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people."

Cited passages: Hosea 6:1, Hosea 6:2, Hosea 6:3, Hosea 6:4, Hosea 6:5, Hosea 6:6, Hosea 6:7, Hosea 6:8, Hosea 6:9, Hosea 6:10, Hosea 6:11

Hosea 6 (KJV)

1Come, 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.

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

3Then 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.

4O 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.

5Therefore 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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

Verses 1 to 3 are spoken in the first person plural, "let us return," "he will heal us," and the text attaches no speaker label to them. Whether the words belong to the people, the prophet or someone else is not stated; what the text does show is that the Lord's reply in verse 4 questions the durability of the addressees' goodness rather than accepting the words at face value. Both Ephraim and Judah are addressed in that reply. "Two days" and "the third day" are the text's own time phrases in the plural voice and are not explained. Gilead is called a city here, and priests are charged with murder "in the way by consent"; no names or occasions are given. The phrase "like men" in verse 7 is what the KJV prints; the verse does not name a place. The final verse mixes third and first person, "he hath set an harvest" and "when I returned the captivity," and the text does not say when that return is. The tearing of verse 1 answers the lion of 5:14, "I, even I, will tear and go away," which is the nearest link the text gives.

Cited passages: Hosea 6:1, Hosea 6:4, Hosea 6:2, Hosea 6:8, Hosea 6:9, Hosea 6:7, Hosea 6:11, Hosea 5:14

Literary context

The chapter is a speech and a reply. The plural voice speaks in balanced pairs, torn and heal, smitten and bind up, two days and the third day, and expects the Lord to come "as the rain." The reply borrows the same sky and water imagery and turns it: their goodness is "as a morning cloud, and as the early dew," which goes away. The plural voice wants to "know the Lord"; the Lord says he desires "the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." Verse 5 makes the prophets' words a blade, "hewed them by the prophets," and verse 9 makes priests into robbers on the road, so both religious offices appear, one as the Lord's instrument and one as killers. The whoredom and defilement wording of 5:3 is repeated in 6:10 almost exactly, and the chapter's last word is to Judah, keeping both kingdoms in view as 5:5 and 5:12 did.

Cited passages: Hosea 6:1, Hosea 6:3, Hosea 6:4, Hosea 6:6, Hosea 6:5, Hosea 6:9, Hosea 5:3, Hosea 6:10

Key moments

  1. Let us return (Hosea 6:1). A plural voice calls for return to the Lord who has torn and will heal.
  2. The third day (Hosea 6:2). The voice expects revival after two days and raising up on the third.
  3. Goodness like the dew (Hosea 6:4). The Lord asks what to do with Ephraim and Judah, whose goodness goes away like early dew.
  4. Mercy, not sacrifice (Hosea 6:6). The Lord states he desired mercy and the knowledge of God over offerings.
  5. Priests who murder (Hosea 6:9). The company of priests are said to murder in the way by consent.
  6. A harvest for Judah (Hosea 6:11). The chapter closes with a harvest set for Judah when the captivity is returned.

For reflection

The words "let us return unto the Lord" sound like the thing the last chapter said was missing, yet the reply calls the speakers' goodness a morning cloud. What in the wording of verses 1 to 3 might the reply be answering?

People in this chapter

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