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Hosea 6

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Let Us Return to the Lord 1–3

1
Come, and let us return unto Jehovah; for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. ​
2
After two days will he revive us: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him. ​
3
And let us know, let us follow on to know Jehovah: his going forth is sure as the morning; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth. ​

God Laments Fleeting Loyalty 4–6

4
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 dew that goeth early away. ​
5
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. ​
6
For I desire goodness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings. ​

Treachery and Corruption Condemned 7–11

7
But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. ​
8
Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity; it is stained with blood. ​
9
And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way toward Shechem; yea, they have committed lewdness. ​
10
In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing: there whoredom is found in Ephraim, Israel is defiled.
11
Also, O Judah, there is a harvest appointed for thee, when I bring back the captivity of my people. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Hosea 6

Verse 1

he hath torn, and he will heal us — 'Torn' is taraf, the verb of 5:14, where the LORD is the lion. That the one who wounds also heals is stated in Deut 32:39, 'I wound, and I heal', and in Job 5:18, 'he woundeth, and his hands make whole'. 'Return' is shuv, the verb of turning back in 3:5 and 14:1.

Verse 2

in the third day he will raise us up — 'Revive' and 'live' are one verb (chayah), and 'raise us up' is qum. The words picture life given back to the dead, as in 'I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live' (Ezek 37:5). Early Christian writers read the third day of Christ, who 'rose again the third day according to the scriptures' (1 Cor 15:4).

Verse 3

his going forth is prepared as the morning — 'Know' (yada) is the knowledge missing in 4:1 and 5:4, and 'follow on' is radaph, to pursue. His coming is as sure as the dawn and as the 'latter and former rain', the rains on which 'thy corn, and thy wine, and thine oil' depended (Deut 11:14; Joel 2:23).

Verse 4

what shall I do unto thee? — The LORD's question to Ephraim and Judah is close to 'What could have been done more to my vineyard' (Isa 5:4). 'Goodness' is chesed, the 'mercy' of 4:1 and 6:6, here Israel's own, and it vanishes 'as the morning cloud, and as the early dew', the simile used again in 13:3.

Verse 5

hewed them by the prophets — 'Hewed' is chatsav, to cut, the verb of 'the rock whence ye are hewn' (Isa 51:1). The cutting is done by the prophets' words: 'I will make my words in thy mouth fire' (Jer 5:14). 'Thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth' as 'every morning doth he bring his judgment to light' (Zeph 3:5).

Verse 6

I desired mercy, and not sacrifice — 'Mercy' is chesed, as in 4:1 and 6:4. Christ quotes the line twice, 'I will have mercy, and not sacrifice' (Matt 9:13; 12:7). 'The knowledge of God' is the knowledge lacking in 4:1 and 4:6, and Samuel says in 1 Sam 15:22, 'to obey is better than sacrifice'.

Verse 7

like men — 'Men' is adam, which is also the name of the first man, so the line is also read 'like Adam' (cf. 'Adam's transgression', Rom 5:14). 'Transgressed' is abar, to pass over, the verb of 'they have also transgressed my covenant' (Josh 7:11). 'Dealt treacherously' (bagad) is the verb of 5:7.

Verse 8

Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity — Gilead is 'polluted with blood', and the blood recalls 'blood toucheth blood' in 4:2. 'Polluted' is aqov, a word Isa 40:4 renders 'crooked'. Hosea names Gilead again in 12:11, 'Is there iniquity in Gilead? surely they are vanity'.

Verse 9

the company of priests murder in the way — 'By consent' is shekem, 'shoulder', which is also the name of Shechem, a city of refuge (Josh 20:7), so the line can be read 'murder in the way toward Shechem'. 'Lewdness' (zimmah) is the word for the outrage at Gibeah (Judg 20:6), recalled in 9:9 and 10:9.

Verse 11

he hath set an harvest for thee — A 'harvest' (qatsir) is reaping, whether of judgment, as in 'put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe' (Joel 3:13), or of what was sown (8:7). 'Returned the captivity of my people' is the phrase of Jer 30:3, 'I will bring again the captivity of my people Israel and Judah'.