Hosea 6

Israel and Judah Are Unrepentant

1 Come, a and let us return to the LORD;
For b He has torn, but c He will heal us;
He has stricken, but He will 1 bind us up.
2 d After two days He will revive us;
On the third day He will raise us up,
That we may live in His sight.
3 e Let us know,
Let us pursue the knowledge of the LORD.
His going forth is established f as the morning;
g He will come to us h like the rain,
Like the latter and former rain to the earth.

4 "O Ephraim, what shall I do to you?
O Judah, what shall I do to you?
For your faithfulness is like a morning cloud,
And like the early dew it goes away.
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets,
I have slain them by i the words of My mouth;
And 2 your judgments are like light that goes forth.
6 For I desire j mercy 3 and k not sacrifice,
And the l knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

7 "But like 4 men they transgressed the covenant;
There they dealt treacherously with Me.
8 m Gilead is a city of evildoers
And 5 defiled with blood.
9 As bands of robbers lie in wait for a man,
So the company of n priests o murder on the way to Shechem;
Surely they commit p lewdness.
10 I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel:
There is the 6 harlotry of Ephraim;
Israel is defiled.

11 Also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed for you,
When I return the captives of My people.

  1. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:18
    Come now, and let us reason together," Says the LORD, "Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson, They shall be as wool.
    Acts 10:43
    "To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins."
  2. Cross References
    Deuteronomy 32:39
    Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; Nor is there any who can deliver from My hand.
    Hosea 5:14
    For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them and go away; I will take them away, and no one shall rescue.
  3. Cross References
    Jeremiah 30:17
    For I will restore health to you And heal you of your wounds,' says the LORD, 'Because they called you an outcast saying: "This is Zion; No one seeks her."
    Hosea 14:4
    I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from him.
  4. Cross References
    Luke 24:46
    Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day.
    Acts 10:40
    Him God raised up on the third day, and showed Him openly.
    1 Corinthians 15:4
    And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.
  5. Cross References
    Isaiah 54:13
    All your children shall be taught by the LORD, And great shall be the peace of your children.
  6. Cross References
    2 Samuel 23:4
    And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises, A morning without clouds, Like the tender grass springing out of the earth, By clear shining after rain.
  7. Cross References
    Psalms 72:6
    He shall come down like rain upon the grass before mowing, Like showers that water the earth.
    Joel 2:23
    Be glad then, you children of Zion, And rejoice in the LORD your God; For He has given you the former rain faithfully, And He will cause the rain to come down for you - The former rain, And the latter rain in the first month.
  8. Cross References
    Job 29:23
    They waited for me as for the rain, And they opened their mouth wide as for the spring rain.
  9. Cross References
    Jeremiah 23:29
    Is not My word like a fire?" says the LORD, "And like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?
  10. Cross References
    Matthew 9:13
    "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance."
    Matthew 12:7
    But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless.
  11. Cross References
    Isaiah 1:12
    When you come to appear before Me, Who has required this from your hand, To trample My courts?
    Isaiah 1:13
    Bring no more futile sacrifices; Incense is an abomination to Me. The New Moons, the Sabbaths, and the calling of assemblies - I cannot endure iniquity and the sacred meeting.
    Micah 6:6 - 8
    With what shall I come before the LORD, And bow myself before the High God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old?
  12. Cross References
    John 17:3
    And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
  13. Cross References
    Hosea 12:11
    Though Gilead has idols - Surely they are vanity - Though they sacrifice bulls in Gilgal, Indeed their altars shall be heaps in the furrows of the field.
  14. Cross References
    Hosea 5:1
    Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O house of the king! For yours is the judgment, Because you have been a snare to Mizpah And a net spread on Tabor.
  15. Cross References
    Jeremiah 7:9
    Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, burn incense to Baal, and walk after other gods whom you do not know.
    Jeremiah 7:10
    And then come and stand before Me in this house which is called by My name, and say, 'We are delivered to do all these abominations'?
    Hosea 4:2
    By swearing and lying, Killing and stealing and committing adultery, They break all restraint, With bloodshed upon bloodshed.
  16. Cross References
    Ezekiel 22:9
    In you are men who slander to cause bloodshed; in you are those who eat on the mountains; in your midst they commit lewdness.
    Ezekiel 23:27
    'Thus I will make you cease your lewdness and your harlotry Brought from the land of Egypt, So that you will not lift your eyes to them, Nor remember Egypt anymore.'
    Hosea 2:10
    Now I will uncover her lewdness in the sight of her lovers, And no one shall deliver her from My hand.
New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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