Hosea 12:6

Hosea 12:6 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.
• New International Version (NIV)But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and wait for your God always.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God."
• New King James Version (NKJV)So you, by the help of your God, return; Observe mercy and justice, And wait on your God continually.

Context of Hosea 12:6

4Yes, he struggled with the angel and prevailed; he wept and sought His favor; he found Him at Bethel and spoke with Him there— 5the LORD God of Hosts, the LORD is His name of renown. But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and always wait on your God. 7A merchant loves to defraud with dishonest scales in his hands. 8And Ephraim boasts: “How rich I have become! I have found wealth for myself. In all my labors, they can find in me no iniquity that is sinful.”

Hosea 12:6 word by word

וְאַתָּ֖ה בֵּאלֹהֶ֣יךָ תָשׁ֑וּב חֶ֤סֶד וּמִשְׁפָּט֙ שְׁמֹ֔ר וְקַוֵּ֥ה אֶל־אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ תָּמִֽיד׃Read the interlinear

• But youאַתָּ֫ה'attâh 'attâ 'ath 'attîy 'attem 'atten 'attênâh 'attênnâh · you(m.s.)H859
• must returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• to your Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• maintainשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: carefulH8104
• loveחֶ֫סֶדchêsêd · kindnessH2617
• and justiceמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
• and alwaysתָּמִידtâmîyd · continuallyH8548
• waitקָוָהqâvâh · to awaitH6960
• onאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413

Cross-references for Hosea 12:6

• Hosea 14:1Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity.
• Proverbs 1:23If you had repented at my rebuke, then surely I would have poured out my spirit on you; I would have made my words known to you.
• Isaiah 31:6Return to the One against whom you have so blatantly rebelled, O children of Israel.
• Isaiah 55:6Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.
• Jeremiah 3:14“Return, O faithless children,” declares the LORD, “for I am your master, and I will take you—one from a city and two from a family—and bring you to Zion.
• Lamentations 3:39Why should any mortal man complain, in view of his sins?
• Joel 2:13So rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to the LORD your God. For He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. And He relents from sending disaster.
• Zechariah 1:3So tell the people that this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Return to Me, declares the LORD of Hosts, and I will return to you, says the LORD of Hosts.’
• Acts 2:38Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• Acts 26:20First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God, performing deeds worthy of their repentance.
• Hosea 4:1Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land!
• Proverbs 21:3To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.
• Isaiah 1:16Wash and cleanse yourselves. Remove your evil deeds from My sight. Stop doing evil!
• Isaiah 58:6Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen: to break the chains of wickedness, to untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and tear off every yoke?
• Jeremiah 22:15Does it make you a king to excel in cedar? Did not your father have food and drink? He administered justice and righteousness, and so it went well with him.
• Amos 5:24But let justice roll on like a river, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.

Commentaries on Hosea 12:6

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 6Therefore turn thou to thy God - Because he is the same, and cannot change. Seek him as faithfully and as fervently as Jacob did, and you will find him the same merciful and compassionate Being.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 6Therefore turn thou to thy God - (Literally, “And thou, thou shalt turn” so as to lean “on thy God.”) “And thou” unlike, he would say, as thou art to thy great forefather, now at least, “turn to thy God;” hope in Him, as Jacob hoped; and thou too shalt be accepted. God was the Same. They then had only to turn to Him in truth, and they too would find Him, such as Jacob their father had found Him, and then “trust in him continually. mercy and judgment”…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 6The Lord urged Israel to stop living like Jacob. Instead, they should return to God and act with love and justice.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 66. thou--who dost wish to be a true descendant of Jacob. to THY God--who is therefore bound by covenant to hear thy prayers. keep mercy and judgment--(Mi 6:8). These two include the second-table commandments, duty towards one's neighbor, the most visible test of the sincerity on one's repentance. wait on thy God--alone, not on thy idols. Including all the duties of the first table (Psa 37:3, 5, 7; 40:1).Read the comment

Topics related to Hosea 12:6

• Mercy
• Perseverance
• Repentance
• Waiting

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Faithful; Faithfulness
• Hosea
• Lovingkindness
• Repentance
• Zechariah, Book of

Commentaries on Hosea 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings