Hosea 6:4-10
Hosea 6:4-10 The Message (MSG)
“What am I to do with you, Ephraim? What do I make of you, Judah? Your declarations of love last no longer than morning mist and predawn dew. That’s why I use prophets to shake you to attention, why my words cut you to the quick: To wake you up to my judgment blazing like light. I’m after love that lasts, not more religion. I want you to know GOD, not go to more prayer meetings. You broke the covenant—just like Adam! You broke faith with me—ungrateful wretches! “Gilead has become Crime City— blood on the sidewalks, blood on the streets. It used to be robbers who mugged pedestrians. Now it’s gangs of priests Assaulting worshipers on their way to Shechem. Nothing is sacred to them. “I saw a shocking thing in the country of Israel: Ephraim worshiping in a religious whorehouse, and Israel in the mud right there with him.
Hosea 6:4-10 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. 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. For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood. And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness. I have seen an horrible thing in the house of Israel: there is the whoredom of Ephraim, Israel is defiled.
Hosea 6:4-10 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? For your loyalty is like a morning cloud And like the dew which goes away early. Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth. For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But like Adam they have transgressed the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously against Me. Gilead is a city of wrongdoers, Tracked with bloody footprints. And as raiders wait for a man, So a band of priests murder on the way to Shechem; Surely they have committed crime. In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim’s harlotry is there, Israel has defiled itself.
Hosea 6:4-10 New Century Version (NCV)
The LORD says, “Israel, what should I do with you? Judah, what should I do with you? Your faithfulness is like a morning mist, like the dew that goes away early in the day. I have warned you by my prophets that I will kill you and destroy you. My justice comes out like bright light. I want faithful love more than I want animal sacrifices. I want people to know me more than I want burnt offerings. But they have broken the agreement as Adam did; they have been unfaithful to me. Gilead is a city of people who do evil; their footprints are bloody. The priests are like robbers waiting to attack people; they murder people on the road to Shechem and do wicked things. I have seen horrible things in Israel. Look at Israel’s prostitution; Israel has become unclean.
Hosea 6:4-10 American Standard Version (ASV)
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. 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. For I desire goodness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings. But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity; it is stained with blood. 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. In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing: there whoredom is found in Ephraim, Israel is defiled.
Hosea 6:4-10 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. Therefore I cut you in pieces with my prophets, I killed you with the words of my mouth— then my judgments go forth like the sun. For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings. As at Adam, they have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there. Gilead is a city of evildoers, stained with footprints of blood. As marauders lie in ambush for a victim, so do bands of priests; they murder on the road to Shechem, carrying out their wicked schemes. I have seen a horrible thing in Israel: There Ephraim is given to prostitution, Israel is defiled.
Hosea 6:4-10 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. Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And your judgments are like light that goes forth. For I desire mercy and not sacrifice, And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. “But like men they transgressed the covenant; There they dealt treacherously with Me. Gilead is a city of evildoers And defiled with blood. As bands of robbers lie in wait for a man, So the company of priests murder on the way to Shechem; Surely they commit lewdness. I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel: There is the harlotry of Ephraim; Israel is defiled.
Hosea 6:4-10 Amplified Bible (AMP)
¶O Ephraim, what shall I do with you? O Judah, what shall I do with you? For your [wavering] loyalty and kindness are [transient] like the morning cloud And like the dew that goes away early. Therefore, I have hewn them in pieces by [the words of] the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; My judgments [pronounced upon them by the prophets] are like the light that shines forth [obvious to all]. For I desire and delight in [steadfast] loyalty [faithfulness in the covenant relationship], rather than sacrifice, And in the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. [Matt 9:13; 12:7] But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; There they have dealt treacherously against Me. Gilead is a city of wrongdoers; It is tracked with bloody footprints. And as bands of robbers [lie in] wait for a man, So a band of priests murder on the road toward Shechem [covering their crimes in that city of refuge]; Certainly they have committed crimes and outrages. I have seen a horrible thing [sins of every kind] in the house of Israel! Ephraim’s prostitution (idolatry) is there; Israel has defiled itself.
Hosea 6:4-10 New Living Translation (NLT)
“O Israel and Judah, what should I do with you?” asks the LORD. “For your love vanishes like the morning mist and disappears like dew in the sunlight. I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces— to slaughter you with my words, with judgments as inescapable as light. I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings. But like Adam, you broke my covenant and betrayed my trust. “Gilead is a city of sinners, tracked with footprints of blood. Priests form bands of robbers, waiting in ambush for their victims. They murder travelers along the road to Shechem and practice every kind of sin. Yes, I have seen something horrible in Ephraim and Israel: My people are defiled by prostituting themselves with other gods!
Hosea 6:4-10 English Standard Version 2016 (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. Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light. For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me. Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood. As robbers lie in wait for a man, so the priests band together; they murder on the way to Shechem; they commit villainy. In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; Ephraim’s whoredom is there; Israel is defiled.