Oséias 6

ARC · Chapter 6/14

1Vinde, e tornemos ao Senhor, porque elle despedaçou, e nos sarará, feriu, e nos atará a ferida.

2Depois de dois dias nos dará a vida: ao terceiro dia nos resuscitará, e viveremos diante d'elle.

3Então conheceremos, e proseguiremos em conhecer, ao Senhor: como a alva, está apparelhada a sua saida: e elle a nós virá como a chuva, como chuva serodia que rega a terra.

4Que te farei, ó Ephraim? que te, farei, ó Judah? visto que a vossa beneficencia é como a nuvem da manhã, e como o orvalho da madrugada, que passa.

5Por isso os cortei pelos prophetas: pela palavras da minha bocca os matei; e os teus juizos sairão como a luz.

6Porque o que eu quero é a misericordia, e não o sacrificio; e o conhecimento de Deus, mais do que os holocaustos.

7Porém elles traspassaram o concerto, como Adão; ali se portaram aleivosamente contra mim.

8Gilead é uma cidade dos que obram iniquidade, calcada de sangue.

9Como as tropas dos salteadores a alguns esperam, assim é a companhia dos sacerdotes; matam no caminho para Sichem, porque fazem abominações.

10Vejo uma coisa horrenda na casa de Israel: ali está a fornicação d'Ephraim; Israel é contaminado.

11Tambem para ti, ó Judah, foi assignada uma sega; quando eu tornar o captiveiro do meu povo.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

The people propose a superficial return to God, but God shows that He desires genuine mercy, not mere ritual, denouncing the violence and unfaithfulness that remain hidden.

Explanation

The opening lines ('Come, and let us return unto the Lord... the third day he will raise us up') sound like sincere repentance, but God responds that this people's 'goodness' is like 'a morning cloud' — fleeting, with no lasting root. The chapter's central phrase, 'I desired mercy, and not sacrifice,' will be quoted by Jesus in the New Testament (Matthew 9:13; 12:7) to correct religious people who valued ritual above real compassion. The mention of Gilead and Shechem points to violence practiced even by priests. The practical lesson: true repentance changes behavior, not just the words spoken in prayer.

Fun facts

  • The phrase 'after two days... in the third day he will raise us up' (v.2) is seen by many Christians as a prophetic shadow of Jesus' resurrection on the third day, though in its original context it refers to the national restoration of Israel.
  • Jesus directly quoted Hosea 6:6 twice in the Gospels, showing how central this verse became to teaching about authentic religion versus empty formalism.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Oséias 6:1An invitation (sincere or only lip service, the rest of the chapter will show) to return to the Lord, acknowledging that the one who wounded the people is the same one who can heal them.
  2. Oséias 6:2"The third day" is a popular expression meaning "in a short while," used here about the people's restoration after punishment, not a fixed date.
  3. Oséias 6:3A promise that, in seeking God, He would come as surely as the dawn and the seasonal rain — but the next verse already reveals that this repentance was shallow.
  4. Oséias 6:4God laments that Ephraim's and Judah's "goodness" is as fleeting as morning fog or dew that dries quickly in the sun — they change their minds easily.
  5. Oséias 6:5God used the prophets' harsh words as an instrument of judgment, making clear, like light, what was coming upon the people.
  6. Oséias 6:6"Mercy, not sacrifice" is the book's central idea: God prefers a faithful heart over correct ritual performed without real commitment — He is not canceling the sacrifices, He is saying which of the two matters more.
  7. Oséias 6:7The people broke the covenant with God the same way Adam broke the command in Eden — Israel's disobedience compared to humanity's very first disobedience.
  8. Oséias 6:8Gilead becomes an example of a city marked by violence and bloodshed, a region that was meant to be Israel's land but became associated with crime.
  9. Oséias 6:9Gilead and the road to Shechem were pilgrimage routes; the text accuses the priests themselves of acting like bandits who ambush pilgrims along the way, a very grave accusation against those who were supposed to protect the people's faith.
  10. Oséias 6:10God declares that He has seen something horrible within the house of Israel: Ephraim's idolatry contaminating the whole nation.
  11. Oséias 6:11Judah, too, will have its own "harvest" of judgment appointed, when the time comes for God to reverse His people's captivity.

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