Hosea 6:5
New International Version
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.

New Living Translation
I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces— to slaughter you with my words, with judgments as inescapable as light.

English Standard Version
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.

Berean Standard Bible
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth, and My judgments go forth like lightning.

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
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.

New American Standard Bible
Therefore I have cut 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 shines.

NASB 1995
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.

NASB 1977
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.

Legacy Standard Bible
Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets; I have killed them by the words of My mouth; And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth.

Amplified Bible
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].

Christian Standard Bible
This is why I have used the prophets to cut them down; I have killed them with the words from my mouth. My judgment strikes like lightning.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
This is why I have used the prophets to cut them down; I have killed them with the words of My mouth. My judgment strikes like lightning.

American Standard Version
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.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
Because of this, I have cut off the Prophets and I have killed them with the word of my mouth, and my judgment will come forth as the light

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Therefore have I mown down your prophets; I have slain them with the word of my mouth: and my judgment shall go forth as the light.

Contemporary English Version
That's why I slaughtered you with the words of my prophets. That's why my judgments blazed like the dawning sun.

Douay-Rheims Bible
For this reason have I hewed them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments shall go forth as the light.

English Revised Version
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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
That is why I cut [you] down by sending the prophets. I killed you with the words from my mouth. My judgments shined on you like light.

Good News Translation
That is why I have sent my prophets to you with my message of judgment and destruction. What I want from you is plain and clear:

International Standard Version
Therefore I cut them to pieces by the prophets, killing them by the words from my mouth. The verdict against you shines like a beacon.

JPS Tanakh 1917
Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth; And thy judgment goeth forth as the light.

Literal Standard Version
Therefore I have hewed by prophets, | I have slain them by sayings of My mouth, | And My judgments go forth to the light.

Majority Standard Bible
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth, and My judgments go forth like lightning.

New American Bible
For this reason I struck them down through the prophets, I killed them by the words of my mouth; my judgment shines forth like the light.

NET Bible
Therefore, I will certainly cut you into pieces at the hands of the prophets; I will certainly kill you in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment; for my judgment will come forth like the light of the dawn.

New Revised Standard Version
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light.

New Heart English Bible
Therefore I have cut them to pieces with the prophets; I killed them with the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
Therefore I have cut them to pieces with the prophets; I killed them with the words of my mouth. Your judgments are like a flash of lightning.

Young's Literal Translation
Therefore I have hewed by prophets, I have slain them by sayings of My mouth, And My judgments to the light goeth forth.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Israel and Judah are Unrepentant
4What 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.…

Cross References
Ephesians 6:17
And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

1 Samuel 15:32
Then Samuel said, "Bring me Agag king of the Amalekites." Agag came to him cheerfully, for he thought, "Surely the bitterness of death is past."

1 Samuel 15:33
But Samuel declared: "As your sword has made women childless, so your mother will be childless among women." And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the LORD at Gilgal.

Jeremiah 1:10
See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant."

Jeremiah 5:14
Therefore this is what the LORD God of Hosts says: "Because you have spoken this word, I will make My words a fire in your mouth and this people the wood it consumes.

Jeremiah 23:29
"Is not My word like fire," declares the LORD, "and like a hammer that smashes a rock?"

Ezekiel 32:18
"Son of man, wail for the multitudes of Egypt, and consign her and the daughters of the mighty nations to the depths of the earth with those who descend to the Pit:


Treasury of Scripture

Therefore 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.

have I.

1 Samuel 13:13
And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon Israel for ever.

1 Samuel 15:22
And Samuel said, Hath the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams.

1 Kings 14:6
And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings.

I have.

1 Kings 19:17
And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay.

Isaiah 11:4
But with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.

Jeremiah 23:29
Is not my word like as a fire? saith the LORD; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces?

and thy judgments are as.

Genesis 18:25
That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?

Job 34:10
Therefore hearken unto me, ye men of understanding: far be it from God, that he should do wickedness; and from the Almighty, that he should commit iniquity.

Psalm 37:6
And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

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Hosea 6
1. Exhortations to repent and hope in God.
4. A lamentation over those who had sinned after conviction.
5. Reproofs of obstinate sinners, and threats against them.














(5) The LXX. render, Therefore I have mowed down their prophets; but this would destroy the parallelism, in which "prophets" correspond to "words of my mouth." The sense is, I have slain them by the announcement of deserved doom.

Thy judgments . . .--An error has crept here into the Masoretic text from which the LXX. and other ancient versions are free. The mistake consists in misplacing an initial letter as a final one. Translate, My judgment shall go forth as the light, clear, victorious, and beneficent. (Comp. the language of Psalm 37:6 and Isaiah 62:1-2.)

Verses 5, 6. - The consequence of Israel's unsteadiness and inconstancy is here stated. Because of the fluctuating and formal nature of their religiousness, God cut them down (instead of rearing them up) through his prophets by fierce denunciations, and slew them (instead of reviving them) by the Divine word. The judgment of Jehovah went forth as the lightning-fish, or was as clear and conspicuous for justice as the light of day. Neither could outward services expiate their sins, when the proper feelings and meet fruits were absent. I have hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth. The language is figurative - the first clause seems borrowed from hewing hard wood and shaping it so as to assume the required form; so God dealt with Israel to bring them into shape morally symmetrical, and make them correspond to the character of a holy people. The slaying is metaphorical, and consisted in the denunciation of death and destruction to the impenitent; in this way he killed, but did not make alive. A different rendering of the clause is given by the LXX. and also by Aben Ezra; the former has, "Therefore have I mown down your prophets; I have slain them with the word of my mouth;" the latter has, "The sense is that he slew some of the prophets who misled the people so that they did not turn (repent)." But be does not imply his hewing in among the prophets; it is instrumental. And thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth. The judgments here spoken of are the Divine judgments denounced against, or inflicted on, the people. Another reading has the pronominal suffix of the first person: "My judgment goeth forth as the light;" to which the Septuagint corresponds: κρίμα μου, equivalent to "my judgment." I desired mercy (or, mercy I delight in)... and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings. The former is the right state of the life, the latter the correct condition of the heart; the former manifests itself in practice, the latter embraces the proper feelings and affections; the former is seen in works of charity and benevolence, the latter consists in right motives and the right relation of the soul to God. The Hebrew form of speech here used denotes inferior importance, not the negation of importance. A similar sentiment occurs in 1 Samuel 15:22, "Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams." Parallel statements are found in Isaiah 1:11-17; Psalm 40:7-9 and Psalm 50:8; also in Micah 6:8. Our Lord cites the first clause of ver. 6 twice - once against Pharisaic ceremonialism (Matthew 9:13), and again against rigorous sabbatarianism (Matthew 12:7); while there is an allusion to it in Mark 12:33, where love to God and to one's neighbor is declared to be better, or "more than, whole burnt offerings and sacrifices." Sacrifices in themselves, and when offered at the proper time and place, and as the expressions of penitent hearts and pure hands, were acceptable, and could not be otherwise, for God himself had appointed them. But soulless sacrifices offered by men steeped in sin were an abomination to the Lord; it was of such he said, "I cannot away with" them. It is to such that the prophet refers here, as is plain from the following verse.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Therefore
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

I have hewn [them]
חָצַ֙בְתִּי֙ (ḥā·ṣaḇ·tî)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular
Strong's 2672: To cut, carve, to hew, split, square, quarry, engrave

by the prophets;
בַּנְּבִיאִ֔ים (ban·nə·ḇî·’îm)
Preposition-b, Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 5030: A spokesman, speaker, prophet

I have slain them
הֲרַגְתִּ֖ים (hă·raḡ·tîm)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 2026: To smite with deadly intent

by the words
בְּאִמְרֵי־ (bə·’im·rê-)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 561: Something said

of My mouth,
פִ֑י (p̄î)
Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular
Strong's 6310: The mouth, edge, portion, side, according to

and My judgments
וּמִשְׁפָּטֶ֖יךָ (ū·miš·pā·ṭe·ḵā)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 4941: A verdict, a sentence, formal decree, divine law, penalty, justice, privilege, style

go forth
יֵצֵֽא׃ (yê·ṣê)
Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3318: To go, bring, out, direct and proxim

like lightning.
א֥וֹר (’ō·wr)
Noun - common singular
Strong's 216: Illumination, luminary


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OT Prophets: Hosea 6:5 Therefore I have cut them to pieces (Ho Hs Hos.)
Hosea 6:4
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