Hosea 6:4

Hosea 6:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)“What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.
• English Standard Version (ESV)What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“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.

Context of Hosea 6:4

2After two days He will revive us; on the third day He will raise us up, that we may live in His presence. 3So let us know— let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, He will appear; He will come to us like the rain, like the spring showers that water the earth. What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes. 5Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth, and My judgments go forth like lightning. 6For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

Hosea 6:4 word by word

מָ֤ה אֶֽעֱשֶׂה־לְּךָ֙ אֶפְרַ֔יִם מָ֥ה אֶעֱשֶׂה־לְּךָ֖ יְהוּדָ֑ה וְחַסְדְּכֶם֙ כַּֽעֲנַן־בֹּ֔קֶר וְכַטַּ֖ל מַשְׁכִּ֥ים הֹלֵֽךְ׃Read the interlinear

• Whatמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• shall I doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• O Ephraimאֶפְרַ֫יִם'ephrayim · EphraimH669
• O Judahיְהוּדָהyehûdâh · JudahH3063
• For your loyaltyחֶ֫סֶדchêsêd · kindnessH2617
• is like a morningבֹּ֫קֶרbôqer · morningH1242
• mistעָנָן‛ânân · cloudH6051
• like the earlyשָׁכַםshâkam · to riseH7925
• dewטַלţal · dewH2919
• that vanishesהָלַךְhâlak · to go: wentH1980

Cross-references for Hosea 6:4

• Hosea 11:8How could I give you up, O Ephraim? How could I surrender you, O Israel? How could I make you like Admah? How could I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart is turned within Me; My compassion is stirred!
• Isaiah 5:3“And now, O dwellers of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I exhort you to judge between Me and My vineyard.
• Jeremiah 3:19Then I said, ‘How I long to make you My sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of all the nations!’ I thought you would call Me ‘Father’ and never turn away from following Me.
• Jeremiah 5:7“Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken Me and sworn by gods that are not gods. I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery and assembled at the houses of prostitutes.
• Jeremiah 9:7Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold, I will refine them and test them, for what else can I do because of the daughter of My people?
• Luke 13:7So he said to the keeper of the vineyard, ‘Look, for the past three years I have come to search for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Therefore cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’
• Luke 19:41As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it
• Judges 2:18Whenever the LORD raised up a judge for the Israelites, He was with that judge and saved them from the hands of their enemies while the judge was still alive; for the LORD was moved to pity by their groaning under those who oppressed them and afflicted them.
• Psalms 78:34When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.
• Psalms 106:12Then they believed His promises and sang His praise.
• Jeremiah 3:10Yet in spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the LORD.
• Jeremiah 34:15Recently you repented and did what pleased Me; each of you proclaimed freedom for his neighbor. You made a covenant before Me in the house that bears My Name.
• Matthew 13:21But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.
• 2 Peter 2:20If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first.
• Hosea 13:3Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that vanishes, like chaff blown from a threshing floor, like smoke through an open window.

Commentaries on Hosea 6:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? - This is the answer of the Lord to the above pious resolutions; sincere while they lasted, but frequently forgotten, because the people were fickle. Their goodness (for goodness it was while it endured) was like the morning cloud that fadeth away before the rising sun, or like the early dew which is speedily evaporated by heat. Ephraim and Judah had too much goodness in them to admit of their total rejection, and too…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? - It is common with the prophets, first to set forth the fullness of the riches of God‘s mercies in Christ, and then to turn to their own generation, and upbraid them for the sins which withheld the mercies of God from “them,” and were hurrying them to their destruction. In like way Isaiah, Romans 13:10, Romans 13:8. And, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-11Verses 4-11 Sometimes Israel and Judah seemed disposed to repent under their sufferings, but their goodness vanished like the empty morning cloud, and the early dew, and they were as vile as ever. Therefore the Lord sent awful messages by the prophets. The word of God will be the death either of the sin or of the sinner. God desired mercy rather than sacrifice, and that knowledge of him which produces holy fear and love. This exposes the folly of those…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Israel's response was not enough. God lamented that their love vanished like morning mist and dew.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. what shall I do unto thee--to bring thee back to piety. What more could be done that I have not done, both in mercies and chastenings (Is 5:4)? At this verse a new discourse begins, resuming the threats (Ho 5:14). See opening remarks on this chapter. goodness--godliness. morning cloud--soon dispersed by the sun (Ho 13:3). There is a tacit contrast here to the promise of God's grace to Israel hereafter, in Ho 6:3. His going forth is "as the morning,"…Read the comment

Topics related to Hosea 6:4

• Backsliders
• Character
• Cloud
• Dew
• Ephraim
• Hypocrisy
• Instability
• Lukewarmness
• Meteorology and Celestial Phenomena

In the dictionaries

• Ephraim
• Judah
• Ephraim, Ephraimite
• Judah, kingdom of Judah
• Judea, Judah
• Cloud
• Consent
• Follow
• Calf, Golden
• Dew

Commentaries on Hosea 6

• 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
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings