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Hosea 6 (Hoshea) in Hebrew and English

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Tenakh Study · Read Hosea in Hebrew and English, one chapter per page. Our Tenakh study meets every Wednesday at 7 pm (Central Time) on Zoom. Text us for the Zoom link.

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Tenakh Study · Hosea 6:1–11

Hosea, Chapter 6

הושע ו

A call to return to Hashem, who has torn and will heal and raise them up on the third day; Hashem laments that the goodness of Efrayim and Yehudah passes like the dew, desires mercy and not sacrifice, and exposes the treachery of Gil’ad, the priests and the house of Israel.

6:1Come, and let us return unto Hashem: for He has torn, and He will heal us; He has smitten, and He will bind us up.

אלְכוּ֙ וְנָשׁ֣וּבָה אֶל־יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֛י ה֥וּא טָרָ֖ף וְיִרְפָּאֵ֑נוּ יַ֖ךְ וְיַחְבְּשֵֽׁנוּ׃

6:2After two days will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.

ביְחַיֵּ֖נוּ מִיֹּמָ֑יִם בַּיּוֹם֙ הַשְּׁלִישִׁ֔י יְקִמֵ֖נוּ וְנִחְיֶ֥ה לְפָנָֽיו׃

6:3Then shall we know, if we follow on to know Hashem: 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.

גוְנֵדְעָ֣ה נִרְדְּפָ֗ה לָדַ֨עַת֙ אֶת־יְהוָ֔ה כְּשַׁ֖חַר נָכ֣וֹן מֽוֹצָא֑וֹ וְיָב֤וֹא כַגֶּ֨שֶׁם֙ לָ֔נוּ כְּמַלְק֖וֹשׁ י֥וֹרֶה אָֽרֶץ׃

Mercy and not sacrifice

6:4O Efrayim (Ephraim), what shall I do unto you? O Yehudah (Judah), what shall I do unto you? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goes away.

דמָ֤ה אֶֽעֱשֶׂה־לְּךָ֙ אֶפְרַ֔יִם מָ֥ה אֶעֱשֶׂה־לְּךָ֖ יְהוּדָ֑ה וְחַסְדְּכֶם֙ כַּֽעֲנַן־בֹּ֔קֶר וְכַטַּ֖ל מַשְׁכִּ֥ים הֹלֵֽךְ׃

6:5Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth: and your judgments are as the light that goes forth.

העַל־כֵּ֗ן חָצַ֨בְתִּי֙ בַּנְּבִיאִ֔ים הֲרַגְתִּ֖ים בְּאִמְרֵי־פִ֑י וּמִשְׁפָּטֶ֖יךָ א֥וֹר יֵצֵֽא׃

6:6For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

וכִּ֛י חֶ֥סֶד חָפַ֖צְתִּי וְלֹא־זָ֑בַח וְדַ֥עַת אֱלֹהִ֖ים מֵעֹלֽוֹת׃

They transgressed the covenant

6:7But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against Me.

זוְהֵ֕מָּה כְּאָדָ֖ם עָבְר֣וּ בְרִ֑ית שָׁ֖ם בָּ֥גְדוּ בִֽי׃

6:8Gil’ad (Gilead) is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood.

חגִּלְעָ֕ד קִרְיַ֖ת פֹּ֣עֲלֵי אָ֑וֶן עֲקֻבָּ֖ה מִדָּֽם׃

6:9And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.

טוּכְחַכֵּ֨י אִ֜ישׁ גְּדוּדִ֗ים חֶ֚בֶר כֹּֽהֲנִ֔ים דֶּ֖רֶךְ יְרַצְּחוּ־שֶׁ֑כְמָה כִּ֥י זִמָּ֖ה עָשֽׂוּ׃

6:10I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Efrayim, Israel is defiled.

יבְּבֵית֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל רָאִ֖יתִי שַׁעֲרֽוּרִיָּ֑ה (כתיב שעריריה) שָׁ֚ם זְנ֣וּת לְאֶפְרַ֔יִם נִטְמָ֖א יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

6:11Also, O Yehudah, he has set an harvest for you, when I returned the captivity of My people.

יאגַּם־יְהוּדָ֕ה שָׁ֥ת קָצִ֖יר לָ֑ךְ בְּשׁוּבִ֖י שְׁב֥וּת עַמִּֽי׃

Sources & method

Hebrew text
The Masoretic text with vowels (nikkud) and cantillation marks (ta’amim), from the Westminster Leningrad Codex (public domain) as published by the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (CC BY 4.0). Where the written text (ketiv) differs from the reading (qere), the reading is shown and the written form follows in small type. A paragraph mark (ס or פ) inside a verse is shown in small type.
English translation
The King James Version (public domain), lightly modernized by Benei Avraham: “thee/thou/ye” become “you,” older verb forms are updated (“hath” to “has”), and archaic words are replaced only where the meaning would otherwise be unclear. People and places carry their Hebrew names, with the King James spelling in parentheses the first time on each page (e.g., Yehudah (Judah)). The Divine Name (יהוה, “the LORD” in the KJV) is written “Hashem”; “God” (Elohim) is unchanged, and “law” is “Torah” where the Hebrew is תּוֹרָה.
Verse numbers
Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible. In Hosea they differ from most English Bibles, or a verse is divided differently, in chapters 1, 2, 11, 12, 13 and 14; a note under the summary on those pages explains how.
Hebrew font
SBL Hebrew, by the Society of Biblical Literature.