Hosea 6:8 kjv
Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood.
Hosea 6:8 nkjv
Gilead is a city of evildoers And defiled with blood.
Hosea 6:8 niv
Gilead is a city of evildoers, stained with footprints of blood.
Hosea 6:8 esv
Gilead is a city of evildoers, tracked with blood.
Hosea 6:8 nlt
"Gilead is a city of sinners,
tracked with footprints of blood.
Hosea 6 8 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Hosea 6:4 | "What shall I do with you, O Ephraim! What shall I do with you, O Judah! For your steadfast love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away." | Direct parallel of the accusation |
| Hosea 6:6 | "For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." | God's stated preference |
| Psalm 147:19 | "He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and his rules to Israel." | God revealing His will |
| Jeremiah 9:24 | "but let him who boasts, boast of this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” | True boast is knowing God |
| Matthew 9:13 | "Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”" | Jesus quotes Hosea 6:6 |
| John 4:23-24 | "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”" | True worship in spirit and truth |
| Romans 12:1 | "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship." | Presenting bodies as living sacrifice |
| 1 Samuel 15:22 | "And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obedience to the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”" | Obedience preferred over sacrifice |
| Isaiah 1:11 | "“What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? says the LORD; I am saturated with the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls or of lambs or of male goats." | God's weariness of meaningless sacrifice |
| Psalm 51:17 | "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.”" | Value of contrite heart |
| Jeremiah 7:22-23 | "For I did not speak to your fathers or command them on the day I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices. But this command I gave them, ‘Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be my people. And walk in all the way that I command you, that it may go well with you.’”" | Command to obey |
| Acts 1:8 | "but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”" | Empowered witness |
| 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 | "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing." | Love as the supreme virtue |
| Ephesians 4:11-13 | "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." | Attaining knowledge of God |
| Proverbs 2:1-6 | "My son, if you receive my words and treasure up my commandments with you, making your ear incline to wisdom and your heart to understanding; yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it like for hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding." | Seeking and finding knowledge of God |
| Colossians 2:2-3 | "that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach on all riches of the full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God, of Christ." | Knowledge of God in Christ |
| 1 John 2:3-4 | "And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar; the truth is not in him." | Knowing God involves obedience |
| John 17:3 | "And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”" | Definition of eternal life |
| 1 Corinthians 8:3 | "But if anyone loves God, he is known by God." | Mutual knowing in love |
Hosea 6 verses
Hosea 6 8 Meaning
The verse highlights a spiritual failing in Israel, where outward observance of religious duties lacked genuine inward devotion. God's expectation was for a pure and willing heart, not merely a performance of rituals. Their "lovingkindness" and knowledge of God were superficial, like the morning dew that quickly vanishes.
Hosea 6 8 Context
Hosea 6:8 is part of a prophetic message to the Northern Kingdom of Israel, a period marked by religious apostasy and moral decay, despite outward religious observance. Following the pronouncements of judgment in Hosea 5, this verse offers a scathing critique of Israel’s flawed spiritual condition. They claimed adherence to God but their hearts were far from Him. This indictment is set against a backdrop where Israel alternated between periods of national covenant infidelity and attempts to appease God through ritual, which was ultimately unacceptable due to their lack of genuine repentance and obedience. The surrounding verses (6:4-6) speak of Israel's transient devotion and God's desire for authentic love and knowledge over mere sacrifices, setting the stage for this direct accusation of sin in verse 8.
Hosea 6 8 Word Analysis
- "Gilead" (Hebrew: גִּלְעָד, Gilad):
- Meaning: A region east of the Jordan River, known for its Gileadite population.
- Significance: In ancient times, Gilead was a place associated with gatherings and covenants, particularly at Mizpah (Judg. 10:17-18). Its mention here likely symbolizes a place where people convened, and potentially where religious or legal decisions were made.
- "a city of them that work iniquity" (Hebrew: עִיר פְּעוּלֵי אָוֶן, iyr pevuley aven):
- "iyr" (עִיר): City.
- "pevuley" (פְּעוּלֵי): Workers, doers, those who labor. This is the masculine plural construct of פָּעַל (pa'al), meaning "to work, do, perform."
- "aven" (אָוֶן): Wickedness, iniquity, perverseness, trouble. Often translated as "trouble" or "vanity" as well.
- Analysis: The phrase powerfully describes the city or perhaps a significant segment within Gilead that is characterized by the habitual practice of wrongdoing. It implies that iniquity has become their way of life, their occupation. The collective noun "city" underscores the pervasive nature of their sin, making it an institutional characteristic rather than isolated incidents. This phrase is polemic, attributing to a place what is true of its inhabitants' behavior.
- "their steps have trodden them down" (Hebrew: שְׁעָתַם דָּרְכוּ יֶעֱשּׂוּ, shə'tām darəḵū ye‘ěśû):
- "shə'tām" (שְׁעָתַם): Their feet, their steps (from שַׁעַת, sha'at - step, gait, or derived from Hebrew roots related to turning/walking). Another interpretation for שַׁעַת might relate to "watching" or "guarding" but the context of "trodden" favors the "steps" meaning. Some scholars connect it to footsteps.
- "darəḵū" (דָּרְכוּ): They have trodden, they have walked (from דָּרַךְ, darch - to tread, crush, walk). This verb often implies pressing down or walking firmly.
- "ye‘ěśû" (יֶעֱשּׂוּ): They cause to do, they execute, they practice. This is from עָשָׂה (‘asah) in a causative sense, here meaning "they carry out" or "they cause to happen" their iniquitous deeds.
- Analysis: This complex phrase suggests that the inhabitants of Gilead, by their very actions ("steps"), have laid waste to or suppressed what is good. Their consistent movement and practice ("steps have trodden") have produced or reinforced their iniquity ("ye‘ěśû" - cause to do, practice). It is a continuous process of sinning, so ingrained that their very movement through life contributes to their pervasive wickedness. They are not merely participants in sin; they are active agents of its propagation.
Hosea 6 8 Bonus Section
The imagery of "treading down" can also be understood in contrast to walking in God's ways. The prophets often use the metaphor of walking for adherence to divine commands. Here, the "treading down" signifies the violation and destruction of God's statutes. The pervasiveness of the sin ("city," "steps") suggests that the entire fabric of society in these areas had been corrupted, leaving no room for righteousness to flourish. This foreshadows the complete devastation that would come upon Israel due to their unrepented sins.
Hosea 6 8 Commentary
Hosea accuses the inhabitants of Gilead of being so deeply mired in iniquity that their very footsteps metaphorically leave a trail of corruption. Their lives are characterized by persistent acts of sin, becoming habitual and ingrained. This highlights a spiritual blindness and rebellion against God's commands, where the "knowledge of God" spoken of in the previous verses is absent or twisted. The verse serves as a stark reminder that societal places and communities can become defined by the pervasive sin of their people, leading to spiritual desolation. God desires purity and obedience, not merely presence in a geographic location that was once significant to Him. This critique underscores the accountability of communities for the collective choices of their inhabitants to turn from God.