Hosea 6:4–10
4 What shall I do with you, gO hEphraim?
What shall I do with you, O hJudah?
Your love is ilike a morning cloud,
ilike the dew that goes early away.
5 Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;
I have slain them jby the words of my mouth,
and my judgment goes forth as the light.
6 For kI desire steadfast love1 and not sacrifice,
lthe knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 But mlike Adam they ntransgressed the covenant;
othere they dealt faithlessly with me.
8 pGilead is a city of evildoers,
qtracked with blood.
9 As robbers rlie in wait for a man,
so the priests band together;
they murder on the way to sShechem;
they commit villainy.
Hosea 6:4–10 — The New International Version (NIV)
4 “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.
5 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.
6 For I desire mercy, not sacrifice,
and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 As at Adam, they have broken the covenant;
they were unfaithful to me there.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,
stained with footprints of blood.
9 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.
10 I have seen a horrible thing in Israel:
There Ephraim is given to prostitution,
Israel is defiled.
Hosea 6:4–10 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
4 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.
5 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.
6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice;
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
7 But they like men have transgressed the covenant:
There have they dealt treacherously against me.
8 Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity,
And is polluted with blood.
9 And as troops of robbers wait for a man,
So the company of priests murder in the way by consent:
For they commit lewdness.
10 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 Living Translation (NLT)
4 “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.
5 I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces—
to slaughter you with my words,
with judgments as inescapable as light.
6 I want you to show love,
not offer sacrifices.
I want you to know me
more than I want burnt offerings.
7 But like Adam, you broke my covenant
and betrayed my trust.
8 “Gilead is a city of sinners,
tracked with footprints of blood.
9 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.
10 Yes, I have seen something horrible in Ephraim and Israel:
My people are defiled by prostituting themselves with other gods!
Hosea 6:4–10 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
4 “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.
5 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.
6 For I desire mercy and not sacrifice,
And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
7 “But like men they transgressed the covenant;
There they dealt treacherously with Me.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers
And defiled with blood.
9 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.
10 I have seen a horrible thing in the house of Israel:
There is the harlotry of Ephraim;
Israel is defiled.
Hosea 6:4–10 — New Century Version (NCV)
4 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.
5 I have warned you by my prophets
that I will kill you and destroy you.
My justice comes out like bright light.
6 I want faithful love
more than I want animal sacrifices.
I want people to know me
more than I want burnt offerings.
7 But they have broken the agreement as Adam did;
they have been unfaithful to me.
8 Gilead is a city of people who do evil;
their footprints are bloody.
9 The priests are like robbers waiting to attack people;
they murder people on the road to Shechem
and do wicked things.
10 I have seen horrible things in Israel.
Look at Israel’s prostitution;
Israel has become unclean.
Hosea 6:4–10 — American Standard Version (ASV)
4 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. 5 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. 6 For I desire goodness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings. 7 But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. 8 Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity; it is stained with blood. 9 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. 10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing: there whoredom is found in Ephraim, Israel is defiled.
Hosea 6:4–10 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
4 What shall I do unto thee, Ephraim? What shall I do unto thee, Judah? For your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that early passeth away. 5 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and my judgment goeth forth as the light. 6 For I delight in loving-kindness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings. 7 But they like Adam have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me. 8 Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity; it is tracked with blood. 9 And as troops of robbers lie in wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way of Shechem; yea, they commit lewdness. 10 In the house of Israel have I seen a horrible thing: the whoredom of Ephraim is there; Israel is defiled.
Hosea 6:4–10 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
4 “What should I do with you, Ephraim?
What should I do with you, Judah?
Your love is like fog in the morning.
It disappears as quickly as the morning dew.
5 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.
6 I want your loyalty, not your sacrifices.
I want you to know me, not to give me burnt offerings.
7 “Like Adam, you rejected the promise.
You were unfaithful to me.
8 Gilead is a city filled with troublemakers.
It is stained with bloody footprints.
9 The priests are like gangs of robbers who lie in ambush for a person.
They murder on the road to Shechem.
Certainly, they have committed a crime.
10 “I have seen horrible things in the nation of Israel.
Ephraim is acting like a prostitute,
and Israel is unclean.
Hosea 6:4–10 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
4 What am I going to do with you, Ephraim?
What am I going to do with you, Judah?
Your loyalty is like the morning mist
and like the early dew that vanishes.
5 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.
6 For I desire loyalty and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 But they, like Adam, have violated the covenant;
there they have betrayed Me.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,
tracked with bloody footprints.
9 Like raiders who wait in ambush for someone,
a band of priests murders on the road to Shechem.
They commit atrocities.
10 I have seen something horrible in the house of Israel:
Ephraim’s promiscuity is there; Israel is defiled.
Hosea 6:4–10 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
4 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 away early.
5 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.
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 But at Adam they transgressed the covenant;
there they dealt faithlessly with me.
8 Gilead is a city of evildoers,
tracked with blood.
9 As robbers lie in wait for someone,
so the priests are banded together;
they murder on the road to Shechem,
they commit a monstrous crime.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;
Ephraim’s whoredom is there, Israel is defiled.
Hosea 6:4–10 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
4 What will I do with you, O Ephraim?
What will I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes away early in the morning.
5 Therefore, I have hewn them by the prophets;
I have killed them by the words of my mouth,
and my judgment goes forth like the light.
6 Because I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
and knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 But like Adam, they transgressed the covenant;
there they dealt faithlessly with me.
8 Gilead is a city of evil,
a cunning city because of blood.
9 Like bandits lying in wait,
so is a band of priests;
they murder on the road to Shechem;
indeed, they commit a monstrous crime.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen something horrible;
Ephraim’s unfaithfulness is there.
Israel is defiled.
Hosea 6:4–10 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
4 The Lord says, “Ephraim, what can I do with you?
And what can I do with you, Judah?
Your love for me vanishes like the morning mist.
It soon disappears like the early dew.
5 So I used the words of my prophets to cut you in pieces.
I used my words to put you to death.
When I judged you, I struck you like lightning.
6 I want mercy and not sacrifice.
I want you to recognize me as God
instead of bringing me burnt offerings.
7 Just as Adam disobeyed me,
you have broken the covenant I made with you.
You were not faithful to me in the land I gave you.
8 Ramoth Gilead is a city where sinful people live.
It is stained with footprints of blood.
9 On the road to Shechem, groups of priests act like robbers.
They hide and wait to attack people.
They murder them
and commit other shameful crimes.
10 People of Israel, I have seen
a horrible thing in your land.
People of Ephraim, you have joined yourselves to other gods.
You have made yourselves ‘unclean.’
Hosea 6:4–10 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
4 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.
5 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.
6 For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice,
And in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
7 But like Adam they have transgressed the covenant;
There they have dealt treacherously against Me.
8 Gilead is a city of wrongdoers,
Tracked with bloody footprints.
9 And as raiders wait for a man,
So a band of priests murder on the way to Shechem;
Surely they have committed crime.
10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing;
Ephraim’s harlotry is there, Israel has defiled itself.