King James Version
Hosea 6
11 verses with commentary
Israel's Insincere Repentance
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.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>Come, and let us return unto the LORD</strong> (לְכוּ וְנָשׁוּבָה אֶל־יְהוָה)—The verb שׁוּב (shuv, 'return/repent') appears 15 times in Hosea, central to its message. But verses 1-3 are shallow repentance, verbal formulas without heart-change—exposed in verse 4: 'Your goodness is as a morning cloud.' <strong>He hath torn, and he will heal us</strong>—they assume automatic restoration afte...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**25. eat with the blood--**in opposition to the law (Le 19:26; compare Ge 9:4). They did so as an idolatrous rite.
After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Resurrection promise: 'After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight.' This profound prophecy uses resurrection imagery: יְחַיֵּנוּ (yechayenu, 'revive us'), יְקִמֵנוּ (yeqimenu, 'raise us up'), נִחְיֶה (nichyeh, 'we shall live'). The 'third day' language anticipates Christ's resurrection (Luke 24:46, 1 Corinthians 15:4). While immediate con...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(2) The haste of the seeming penitents for the fulfilment of their hope. They expect the rapid restoration of the national prosperity, prompted by the abundance of the Divine love, and His response to the first touch of penitence (signified in Hosea 5:15).
**After two days.**—A phrase sometimes used for the second day, *i.e.*, to-morrow.
**In the third day—***i.e.*, after a short time. This and th...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**26. Ye stand upon your sword--**Your dependence is, not on right and equity, but on force and arms.
**every one--**Scarcely anyone refrains from adultery.
Then 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.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The exhortation 'Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD' emphasizes progressive knowledge through devoted pursuit. The Hebrew 'follow on' (נִרְדְּפָה, nirdepah) means to pursue eagerly, chase after—active, intentional seeking rather than passive waiting. 'To know' (לָדַעַת, lada'at) signifies intimate, experiential knowledge, not merely intellectual information. This is covenant know...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**27. shall fall by the sword--**The very object of their confidence would be the instrument of their destruction. Thinking to "stand" by it, by it they shall "fall." Just retribution! Some fell by the sword of Ishmael; others by the Chaldeans in revenge for the murder of Gedaliah (Jr 40:1-44:30).
**caves--**(Jud 6:2; 1Sa 13:6). In the hilly parts of Judea there were caves almost inaccessible, a...
Read full commentary →The Sins of Israel and Judah
O 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. goodness: or, mercy, or, kindness
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
God's lament: 'O 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.' This expresses divine frustration - not helplessness but anguish over Israel's superficial repentance. Their 'goodness' (hesed) is transient like morning fog or dew that vanishes quickly. Repentance motivated by desire to escape cons...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(4) Here ends the supposed language of the penitents. If it were genuine, and accompanied by a deep sense of sin, it would not be in vain. But the prophet utters the heartrending response and expostulation of Jehovah, who bewails the transitory nature of their repentance.
**Your goodness** . . .—Better rendered, *Your love* (to me) *is like the morning cloud* (which promises rain, and does not giv...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**28. most desolate--**(Jr 4:27; 12:11).
**none ... pass through--**from fear of wild beasts and pestilence [Grotius].
Therefore 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. and: or, that thy judgments might be, etc
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Therefore 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.' God's word through prophets functions as tool - 'hewing' (shaping through judgment) and 'slaying' (bringing death to rebellion). 'Words of my mouth' are powerful, accomplishing divine purposes (Isaiah 55:11). 'Thy judgments as light' means God's verdicts il...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(5) The LXX. render, *Therefore I have mowed down their prophets;* but this would destroy the parallelism, in which “prophets” correspond to “words of my mouth.” The sense is, I have slain them by the announcement of deserved doom.
**Thy judgments** . . .—An error has crept here into the Masoretic text from which the LXX. and other ancient versions are free. The mistake consists in misplacing an i...
Read full commentary →For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
<strong>I desired mercy, and not sacrifice</strong> (חֶסֶד חָפַצְתִּי וְלֹא־זָבַח)—God's priority is hesed (covenant loyalty, steadfast love) over ritual performance. Jesus quoted this verse twice (Matthew 9:13, 12:7) to condemn Pharisaic externalism. <strong>The knowledge of God</strong> (דַּעַת אֱלֹהִים) means intimate covenant relationship, not mere information—the same 'knowing' used of marria...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(6) **Mercy.—**Better rendered, *love.* This passage is richly sustained by our Lord’s adoption of its teaching (Matthew 9:13; Matthew 12:7). Mark 12:33 shows that according to even Old Testament teaching, the moral ranks above the ceremonial, that ritual is valueless apart from spiritual conformity with Divine will.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
30. Not only the remnant in Judea, but those at the Chebar, though less flagrantly, betrayed the same unbelieving spirit.
**talking against thee--**Though going to the prophet to hear the word of the Lord, they criticised, in an unfriendly spirit, his peculiarities of manner and his enigmatical style (Eze 20:49); making these the excuse for their impenitence. Their talking was not directly "agai...
Read full commentary →But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. men: or, Adam
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.' 'Like men' (ke-adam) might reference Adam's covenant breaking in Eden (Romans 5:12-19) or mean 'like mere humans' (expecting higher standard from covenant people). 'Transgressed covenant' (avaru brit) describes deliberate violation. 'Dealt treacherously' (bagdu) means betrayed trust - covenant infide...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(7) Critics differ much as to the interpretation of this verse. The marginal rendering supplies the strongest meaning. God made a covenant with Adam, and promised him the blessings of Paradise on condition of obedience. He broke the condition, transgressed the covenant, and was driven from his Divine home. So Israel had violated all the terms on which the goodly land of conditional promise had bee...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**31. as the people cometh--**that is, in crowds, as disciples flock to their teacher.
**sit before thee--**on lower seats at thy feet, according to the Jewish custom of pupils (De 33:3; 2Ki 4:38; Lu 10:39; Ac 22:3).
**as my people--**though they are not.
**hear ... not do--**(Mt 13:20, 21; Jas 1:23, 24).
**they show much love--**literally, "make love," that is, act the part of lovers. Pro...
Read full commentary →Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood. polluted: or, cunning for
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
The cryptic statement 'Gilead is a city of workers of iniquity, polluted with blood' indicts a specific location for systemic evil. Gilead, east of the Jordan, was a Levitical city and city of refuge (Joshua 20:8), meant to protect the innocent. That it became 'tracked with blood' (aqqubah mi-dam) suggests the opposite: rather than sanctuary, it offered violence. The term 'workers of iniquity' (po...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(8) **Polluted** . . .—More accurately, *betrodden* (or foot-tracked) *with blood.* We infer from Judges 10:17 that there was a town called Gilead east of the Jordan distinct altogether from Mizpah (identified by many with the city of refuge Ramoth-Gilead), and this is confirmed by notices in Eusebius and Cyril. Murder in a “city of refuge” adds to the horror. On the murderous propensities of the ...
Read full commentary →Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**32. very lovely song--**literally, a "song of loves": a lover's song. They praise thy eloquence, but care not for the subject of it as a real and personal thing; just as many do in the modern church [Jerome].
**play well on an instrument--**Hebrew singers accompanied the "voice" with the harp.
And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent : for they commit lewdness. by: Heb. with one shoulder, or, to Shechem lewdness: or, enormity
View commentary (3 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.' Priests acting like robber gangs - ambushing travelers, committing murder 'by consent' (unanimous evil). 'Murder in the way' (derek) might reference road to Shechem (v. 9b context) or generally indicate violent crime. 'Commit lewdness' (zimmah) means planned wickedness. When ...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(9) Should be rendered, *As a robber lies in wait, so the company of priests murder on the road to Shechem; yea, they execute the plot.* Shechem, charged with historic interest (Genesis to Judges), is also a city of refuge, a Levitical city, on the road to Bethel, where the priests of the calves resided. (Comp. Hosea 5:1.)
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary
**33. when this cometh to pass--**when My predictions are verified.
**lo, it will come--**rather, "lo it is come" (see Eze 33:22).
**know--**experimentally, and to their cost.
I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.' God sees 'horrible thing' (sha'arurah) - something shocking, appalling. 'In house of Israel' means in God's own household - His covenant people committing these atrocities. 'Whoredom of Ephraim' continues spiritual adultery theme. 'Israel is defiled' (nitma) means ceremonially and morally po...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(10) **House of Israel.**—This phrase means Ephraim and Judah subsequently discriminated. The “horrible thing” refers to polluting idolatry. This peculiar word occurs again in Jeremiah. According to the punctuation of the Hebrew the reciter hesitates before pronouncing the “horrible thing” which grated through his teeth.
Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.
View commentary (2 sources)
KJV Study Commentary
Also, O Judah, he hath set an harvest for thee, when I returned the captivity of my people.' Despite focus on Israel, Judah isn't exempt - God has 'set a harvest' (judgment) for them also. 'When I returned captivity' creates interpretive challenge: does return bring blessing or judgment? Likely both - restoration includes accountability. Judah will also face harvest (judgment for sin) even amid re...
Read full commentary →Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers
(11) **An harvest.—**The harvest is not of joy, but of sorrow and affliction, befalling Judah, like Israel, for her sins: a contrast to the usual accompaniments of the season when the Feast of Tabernacles was celebrated (Deuteronomy 12:13-16; Leviticus 23:40; Psalm 126:5-6). In regard of the last clause of the verse, “when I turn the captivity of my people,” it is best to unite it with the succeed...
Read full commentary →