Hosea 6 · Verse 6

Hosea 6:6

For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Hosea 6:6, King James Version

Hosea 6:6 in other translations

BSBFor I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
WEBFor I desire mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
ASVFor I desire goodness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings.
YLTFor kindness I desired, and not sacrifice, And a knowledge of God above burnt-offerings.
DARBYFor I delight in loving-kindness, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings.
BBEBecause my desire is for mercy and not offerings; for the knowledge of God more than for burned offerings.
WebsterFor I desired mercy, and not sacrifice: and the knowledge of God more than burnt-offerings.

What does Hosea 6:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
6. mercy--put for piety in general, of which mercy or charity is a branch. not sacrifice--that is, "rather than sacrifice." So "not" is merely comparative (Ex 16:8; Joe 2:13; Joh 6:27; 1Ti 2:14). As God Himself instituted sacrifices, it cannot mean that He desired them not absolutely, but that even in the Old Testament, He valued moral obedience as the only end for which positive ordinances, such as sacrifices, were instituted--as of more importance than a mere external ritual obedience (1Sa 15:22; Psa 50:8, 9; 51:16; Is 1:11, 12; Mi 6:6-8; Mt 9:13; 12:7). knowledge of God--experimental and practical, not merely theoretical (Ho 6:3; Jr 22:16; 1Jo 2:3, 4). "Mercy" refers to the second table of the law, our duty to our fellow man; "the knowledge of God" to the first table, our duty to God, including inward spiritual worship. The second table is put first, not as superior in dignity, for it is secondary, but in the order of our understanding.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 6 I desired mercy, and not sacrifice - I taught them righteousness by my prophets; for I desired mercy. I was more willing to save than to destroy; and would rather see them full of penitent and holy resolutions, than behold them offering the best and most numerous victims upon my altar. See Mat 9:13.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Hosea 6:4-11

Sometimes Israel and Judah seemed disposed to repent under their sufferings, but their goodness vanished like the empty morning cloud, and the early dew, and they were as vile as ever. Therefore the Lord sent awful messages by the prophets. The word of God will be the death either of the sin or of the sinner. God desired mercy rather than sacrifice, and that knowledge of him which produces holy fear and love. This…

Read the full comment on Hosea 6:4-11 →

Hosea 6:6 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כִּ֛יkiforH3588
חֶ֥סֶדChe.sedcovenant loyaltyH2617
חָפַ֖צְתִּיcha.Fatz.tiI desireH2654
וְלֹא\־ve.lo'-and notH3808
זָ֑בַחZa.vachsacrificeH2077
וְדַ֥עַתve.Da.'atand [the] knowledge ofH1847
אֱלֹהִ֖ים'E.lo.HimGodH430
מֵעֹלֽוֹת\׃me.'o.Lotmore than burnt offeringsH5930

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Hosea 6:6

  • Matthew 9:13

    But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

  • Matthew 12:7

    But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.

  • Proverbs 21:3

    To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice.

  • 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.

  • Amos 5:21

    I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.

  • Ecclesiastes 5:1

    Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil.

  • Isaiah 1:11

    To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the Lord: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats.

  • Jeremiah 22:16

    He judged the cause of the poor and needy; then it was well with him: was not this to know me? saith the Lord.

  • Matthew 5:7

    Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

  • Daniel 4:27

    Wherefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee, and break off thy sins by righteousness, and thine iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor; if it may be a lengthening of thy tranquillity.

  • 1 Chronicles 28:9

    And thou, Solomon my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the Lord searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever.

  • Jeremiah 7:22

    For I spake not unto your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices:

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
I desired.
1Sa 15:22; Ps 50:8; Pr 21:3; Ec 5:1; Isa 1:11; 58:6; Jer 7:22
Da 4:27; Am 5:21; Mic 6:6; Mt 5:7; 9:13; 12:7
the.
4:1; 1Ch 28:9; Jer 22:16; 1Jo 2:3; 3:6

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Hosea 6:5

    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.

  • Hosea 6:6

    For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

  • Hosea 6:7

    But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.

Read all of Hosea 6

Hosea 6:6 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Porque misericordia quise, y no sacrificio; y conocimiento de Dios más que holocaustos.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Car j’ai aimé la bonté, et non le sacrifice, et la connaissance de Dieu plus que les holocaustes;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Denn an Frömmigkeit habe ich Gefallen und nicht am Schlachtopfer, und an der Erkenntnis Gottes mehr als an Brandopfern.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quia misericordiam volui, et non sacrificium; et scientiam Dei plus quam holocausta.