Hosea 12:6

Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment and wait on thy God continually.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
turn	תָשׁ֑וּב ta.Shuv	H7725	to turn back (hence · verb, qal imperfect, 2nd person masculine singular
God	בֵּאלֹהֶ֣יךָ be.lo.Hei.kha	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
keep	שְׁמֹ֔ר she.Mor	H8104	properly · verb, qal imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
mercy	חֶ֤סֶד Che.sed	H2617	kindness · noun, common masculine singular absolute
judgment	וּמִשְׁפָּט֙ u.mish.Pat	H4941	properly · conjunction + noun, common masculine singular absolute
wait	וְקַוֵּ֥ה ve.ka.Veh	H6960	to bind together (perhaps by twisting) · conjunction + verb, piel imperative, 2nd person masculine singular
God	אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ 'e.lo.Hei.kha	H430	gods in the ordinary sense · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person masculine singular
continually	תָּמִֽיד ta.Mid	H8548	properly · noun, common masculine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Micah 6:8 He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly wi…
Lamentations 3:25-26 The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.
Hosea 14:1 O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
Micah 7:7 Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.
Hosea 6:1-3 Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
Zechariah 7:9 Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother:
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall rece…
James 2:13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hosea 12:1-6

In these verses, I. Ephraim is convicted of folly, in staying himself upon Egypt and Assyria, when he was in straits (Hos 12:1): Ephraim feeds on wind, that is, feeds himself with vain hopes of assistance from man, when he is at variance with God; and, when he meets with disappointments, he still pursues the same game, and greedily pants and follows after the east wind, which he cannot catch holy of, nor, if he could, would it be nourishing, nay, would be noxious. We say of the wind in the east, It is good neither for man nor beast. It was said (Hos 8:7), He sows the wind; and as he sows so he reaps (He reaps the whirlwind); and as he reaps so he feeds - He feeds on the wind, the east wind.…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hosea 12:6

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-- (Mic 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, Psa 37:5, Psa 37:7; Psa 40:1).

Adam Clarke on Hosea 12:6

Therefore 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.

John Gill on Hosea 12:6

Therefore turn thou to thy God,.... Judah, with whom the Lord had a controversy, is here addressed and exhorted to return to the Lord, from whom they had backslidden; and this is urged, from the consideration of their being the descendants of so great a man as Jacob; whose example they should follow, and make supplication to the Lord as he did; and from this instance of their progenitor might encourage themselves, that God, who was his God, and their God, would be gracious and merciful to them, and that they should prevail with him likewise, and obtain the blessing, and especially since he is the everlasting and unchangeable Jehovah. Turning to the Lord, as it supposes a going astray from hi…

The Church Fathers

Combine justice with mercy, spending in mercy what you possess with justice. It is written, "Keep mercy and justice, and draw near to thy God always." Because God loves mercy and justice, he who takes care to do mercy and justice draws near to God. It remains, then, for each to examine himself and for the rich person to take careful inventory of the private resources from which he is to offer gifts to God, to make sure that he has not oppressed a poor person, or used force against one weaker than himself, or cheated one dependent upon him, thus exercising license rather than justice. We are bidden to practice fairness and justice also toward those who serve us. Do not employ force because you are in command, and do not take advantage because it is within your power to do so.
— Basil of Caesarea, HOMILY ON MERCY AND JUSTICE

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Mercy · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Perseverance · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Waiting · Exhortations and encouragements to — Exhortations and encouragements to
Waiting Upon God · Exhortations and encouragements to — Exhortations and encouragements to

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Hosea 12:6

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hosea 12:1-6

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hosea 12:6

Adam Clarke on Hosea 12:6

John Gill on Hosea 12:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Hosea 12:6

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Hosea 12:1-6

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Hosea 12:6

Adam Clarke on Hosea 12:6

John Gill on Hosea 12:6

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Hosea 12:6-7

Keil & Delitzsch on Hosea 12:6

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Hosea 12:6

Rashi on Hosea 12:6