Hosea 5:6
in Hosea 5They go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, but they do not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Jehovah; but they shall not find him: he hath withdrawn himself from them.
KJV
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.
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This verse in Hosea 5
Commentary
8 notes on this verse"In their flocks and herds they will go to seek the Lord, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them. They have transgressed against the Lord, for they have produced illegitimate children. Now the month and its parts will devour them." LXX: "When they go with sheep and calves seeking the Lord, but shall not find him, he hath withdrawn himself from them. Because they have forsaken the Lord, and have brought up strange children, their rust shall devour them and their portions."
This site's exposition
seek the Lord
on Hosea 5:6-7
They will go with flocks and herds to seek the Lord but will not find him, for he has withdrawn himself, and the older writers take this of formal sacrifice offered without the repentance that alone makes an offering acceptable, ritual without the heart the earlier chapter already indicted. They have dealt treacherously against the Lord, begetting strange children, a phrase the bench reads either of children born of mixed marriages with idolaters or of a generation raised outside the covenant's instruction, the readings named without settling between them. Now shall a month devour them with their portions, the judgment falling swiftly, in the span of a single new moon, on their land and their harvest alike.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Nor shall those speed who do not seek the Lord while he may be found, for there is a time when he will not be found. They shall not find him, for he has withdrawn himself; he will not be enquired of by them, but will turn a deaf ear to their sacrifices. See how much it is our concern to seek God early, now while the accepted time is, and the day of salvation.
To seek the Lord - The Jewish doctors tell us, that under Hosea, Israel had liberty of bringing their sacrifices to Jerusalem. Shall not find him - God will not be found of them.
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
with . . . flocks--to propitiate Jehovah (Isa 1:11-15). seek . . . not find--because it is slavish fear that leads them to seek Him; and because it then shall be too late (Pr 1:28;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
They shall go with their flocks - They shall offer many sacrifices, professing to seek and be reconciled to the Lord; but they shall not find him. As they still retain the spirit of their idolatry, he has withdrawn himself from them.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
They shall go with their flocks - “They had let slip the day of grace, wherein God had called them to repentance, and promised to be found of them and to accept them. When then the decree was gone forth and judgment determined against them, all their outward shew of worship and late repentance shall not prevail to gain admittance for them to Him. He will not be found of them, hear them, nor accept them. They stopped their ears obstinately against Him calling on them, and proffering mercy in the day of mercy: He will now stop His ear against them, crying for it in the Day of Judgment.” Repenting thus late, (as is the case with most who repent, or think that they repent, at the close of life) they did not repent out of the love of God, but out of slavish fear, on account of the calamity which was coming upon them. But the main truth, contained in this and other passages of Holy Scripture which speak of a time when it is too late to turn to God, is this: that “it shall be too late to knock when the door shall be shut, and too late to cry for mercy when it is the time of justice.” God waits long for sinners; He threatens long before He strikes; He strikes and pierces in lesser degrees, and with increasing severity, before the final blow comes. In this life, He places man in a new state of trial, even after His first judgments have fallen on the sinner. But the general rule of His dealings is this; that, when the time of each judgment is actually come, then, as to “that” judgment, it is too late to pray. It is “not” too late for other mercy, or for final forgiveness, so long as man’s state of probation lasts; but it is too late as to this one. And thus, each judgment in time is a picture of the eternal judgment, when the day of mercy is past forever, to those who have finally, in this life, hardened themselves against it. […]
The words behind it
10 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּצֹאנָ֣ם | betzonam | with flock[s] their | H6629 → | |
| וּבִבְקָרָ֗ם | uvivkaram | and with herd[s] their | H1241 → | |
| יֵֽלְכ֛וּ | yelekhu | they will go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| לְבַקֵּ֥שׁ | levakesh | to seek | H1245 → | 225 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִמְצָ֑אוּ | yimtzau | they will find [him] | H4672 → | 455 times |
| חָלַ֖ץ | chalatz | he has withdrawn | H2502 → | |
| מֵהֶֽם׃ | mehem | from them |
בְּצֹאנָ֣םwith flock[s] their
betzonamH6629 →
וּבִבְקָרָ֗םand with herd[s] their
uvivkaramH1241 →
יֵֽלְכ֛וּthey will go
yelekhuH1980 →1546 times
לְבַקֵּ֥שׁto seek
levakeshH1245 →225 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יִמְצָ֑אוּthey will find [him]
yimtzauH4672 →455 times
חָלַ֖ץhe has withdrawn
chalatzH2502 →
מֵהֶֽם׃from them
mehem
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Proverbs 15:8The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
it leads to
- Proverbs 15:29
The LORD is far from the wicked, but He hears the prayer of the righteous.
- 1 Chronicles 29:17
I know, my God, that You test the heart and delight in uprightness. All these things I have given willingly and with an upright heart, and now I have seen Your people who are…
- Proverbs 21:27
The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—how much more so when brought with ill intent!
- Jeremiah 6:20
What use to Me is frankincense from Sheba or sweet cane from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please Me.”
- Proverbs 28:9
Whoever turns his ear away from hearing the law, even his prayer is detestable.
- Proverbs 15:29
Through
Proverbs 1:28Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.
it leads to
- Zechariah 7:13
And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Micah 3:4
Then they will cry out to the LORD, but He will not answer them. At that time He will hide His face from them because of the evil they have done.
- James 4:3
And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.
- Zechariah 7:13
About Hosea
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 5:6-7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.