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JPS Old Testament

Hosea 6:5

Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth; and thy judgment goeth forth as the light.

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Backsliders;   Instability;   Word of God;   The Topic Concordance - War/weapons;  

Dictionaries:

- Baker Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology - Hypocrisy;   Kill, Killing;   Word;   Charles Buck Theological Dictionary - Patience of God;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Hosea;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Untoward;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - God;   Hosea;   Logos;   Sin (1);   Text of the Old Testament;   Untoward;  

Devotionals:

- Every Day Light - Devotion for March 28;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
This is why I have used the prophetsto cut them down;I have killed them with the words from my mouth.My judgment strikes like lightning.
Hebrew Names Version
Therefore I have cut them to pieces with the prophets; I killed them with the words of my mouth. Your judgments are like a flash of lightning.
King James Version
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.
English Standard Version
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light.
New American Standard Bible
Therefore I have cut 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 shines.
New Century Version
I have warned you by my prophets that I will kill you and destroy you. My justice comes out like bright light.
Amplified Bible
Therefore, I have hewn them in pieces by [the words of] the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth; My judgments [pronounced upon them by the prophets] are like the light that shines forth [obvious to all].
Geneva Bible (1587)
Therefore haue I cut downe by the Prophets: I haue slaine them by the wordes of my mouth, and thy iudgements were as the light that goeth forth.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
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.
Legacy Standard Bible
Therefore I have hewn them in pieces by the prophets;I have killed them by the words of My mouth;And the judgments on you are like the light that goes forth.
Berean Standard Bible
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of My mouth, and My judgments go forth like lightning.
Contemporary English Version
That's why I slaughtered you with the words of my prophets. That's why my judgments blazed like the dawning sun.
Complete Jewish Bible
This is why I have cut them to pieces by the prophets, slaughtered them with the words from my mouth — the judgment on you shines out like light.
Darby Translation
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.
Easy-to-Read Version
I used the prophets and made laws for the people. The people were killed at my command, but good things will come from those decisions.
George Lamsa Translation
Therefore have I cut off the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth; and my judgments shall go forth as the light.
Good News Translation
That is why I have sent my prophets to you with my message of judgment and destruction. What I want from you is plain and clear:
Lexham English Bible
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.
Literal Translation
So I have hewn them by the prophets; I have slain them by the Words of My mouth; and your judgments have been as the light that goes forth.
American Standard Version
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.
Bible in Basic English
So I have had it cut in stones; I gave them teaching by the words of my mouth;
King James Version (1611)
Therefore haue I shewed them by the Prophets: I haue slaine them by the wordes of my mouth, and thy iudgements are as the light that goeth foorth.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Therfore haue I cut downe the prophetes, and let them be slayne for my wordes sake, so that thy punishment shall come to light.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
What shall I do unto thee, Ephraim? What shall I do to thee, Juda? whereas your mercy is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew that goes away.
English Revised Version
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.
World English Bible
Therefore I have cut them to pieces with the prophets; I killed them with the words of my mouth. Your judgments are like a flash of lightning.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
For this thing Y hewide in profetis, Y killide hem in the wordis of my mouth;
Update Bible Version
Therefore I have hewed them by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and my judgment goes forth as the light.
Webster's Bible Translation
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.
New English Translation
Therefore, I will certainly cut you into pieces at the hands of the prophets; I will certainly kill you in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment; for my judgment will come forth like the light of the dawn.
New King James Version
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.
New Living Translation
I sent my prophets to cut you to pieces— to slaughter you with my words, with judgments as inescapable as light.
New Life Bible
So I have cut them in pieces by the men who speak for Me. I have killed them by the words of My mouth. My punishments come upon you like lightning.
New Revised Standard
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.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
For this cause, have I hewn them in pieces by the prophets, I have slain them by the sayings of my mouth, - and, my justice, as a light goeth forth.
Douay-Rheims Bible
For this reason have I hewed them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth: and thy judgments shall go forth as the light.
Revised Standard Version
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth as the light.
Young's Literal Translation
Therefore I have hewed by prophets, I have slain them by sayings of My mouth, And My judgments to the light goeth forth.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Therfore haue I cut downe the prophetes, & letten them be slayne for my wordes sake: so that thy punyshment shal come to light.

Contextual Overview

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 early passeth away. 5 Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets, I have slain them by the words of My mouth; and thy judgment goeth forth as the light. 6 For I desire mercy, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather 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, it is covered with footprints of blood. 9 And as troops of robbers wait for a man, so doth the company of priests; they murder in the way toward Shechem; yea, they commit enormity. 10 In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing; there harlotry is found in Ephraim, Israel is defiled. 11 Also, O Judah, there is a harvest appointed for thee! When I would turn the captivity of My people,

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

have I: 1 Samuel 13:13, 1 Samuel 15:22, 1 Kings 14:6, 1 Kings 17:1, 1 Kings 18:17, 2 Kings 1:16, 2 Chronicles 21:12, Isaiah 58:1, Jeremiah 1:10, Jeremiah 1:18, Jeremiah 5:14, Jeremiah 13:13, Ezekiel 3:9, Ezekiel 43:3, Acts 7:31

I have: 1 Kings 19:17, Isaiah 11:4, Jeremiah 23:29, Hebrews 4:12, Revelation 1:16, Revelation 2:16, Revelation 9:15, Revelation 9:21

and thy judgments are as: or, that thy judgments might be as, etc. Genesis 18:25, Job 34:10, Psalms 37:6, Psalms 119:120, Zephaniah 3:5, Romans 2:5

Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 16:4 - trembled 2 Samuel 23:4 - as the light Nehemiah 9:29 - testifiedst Song of Solomon 5:7 - they smote Song of Solomon 6:10 - looketh Isaiah 28:13 - precept upon precept Isaiah 49:2 - he hath made Jeremiah 9:7 - shall Ezekiel 11:4 - General Ezekiel 11:13 - when Ezekiel 23:45 - the righteous Ezekiel 32:18 - cast Hosea 5:2 - a rebuker 2 Thessalonians 2:8 - the spirit Revelation 11:5 - fire

Cross-References

Genesis 6:1
And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
Genesis 6:3
And the LORD said: 'My spirit shall not abide in man for ever, for that he also is flesh; therefore shall his days be a hundred and twenty years.'
Genesis 6:4
The Nephilim were in the earth in those days, and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bore children to them; the same were the mighty men that were of old, the men of renown.
Genesis 6:9
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was in his generations a man righteous and whole-hearted; Noah walked with God.
Genesis 6:19
And of every living thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female.
Genesis 6:20
Of the fowl after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to keep them alive.
Genesis 6:21
And take thou unto thee of all food that is eaten, and gather it to thee; and it shall be for food for thee, and for them.'
Genesis 8:21
And the LORD smelled the sweet savour; and the LORD said in His heart: 'I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.
Genesis 13:13
Now the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against the LORD exceedingly.
Deuteronomy 29:19
the LORD will not be willing to pardon him, but then the anger of the LORD and His jealousy shall be kindled against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book shall lie upon him, and the LORD shall blot out his name from under heaven;

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Therefore have I hewed [them] by the prophets; I have slain them by the words of my mouth,.... Sharply reproved them for their sins by the prophets, who were as lapidaries that cut stone, or us hewers of timber that cut off the knotty parts; so these by preaching the terrors of the law, which is a killing letter, and by delivering out the threatenings of the Lord, and denouncing his judgments upon them for their sins, cut them to the heart, and killed them; for their foretelling and prophesying of their being slain, ruined, and destroyed, was a slaying of them; see Jeremiah 1:10. The Targum is,

"because I admonished them by the message of my prophets, and they returned not, I will bring upon them those that slay, because they have transgressed the word of my will.''

But the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, and so Aben Ezra and Joseph Kimchi, understand these words, not of hewing, and cutting, and slaying of the people by the prophets, but of the cutting and slaying the prophets themselves, and read the words, "therefore have I cut off the prophets, and slain them c.", either the false prophets, some of them that caused the people to err, that they might not repent, as Aben Ezra as the prophets of Baal in the times of Elijah, and the Scribes and Pharisees in Christ's time, who were in the way of the people's repentance, reformation, and reception of Christ; these he cut off, and their doctrine, and condemned by his own, and the doctrine of his apostles, the words of the Lord's mouth; see Zechariah 11:8; and this he did for the good of his people, in answer to the question put by himself in Hosea 6:4; so Schmidt interprets it: or else the true prophets of God, who were exposed to death, to be cut off and slain, for the messages they were sent with: or those messages were such as were killing to them to carry them, and deliver them; and they were so constantly employed, early and late, in such service, that for the work of the Lord they were often nigh unto death: but our version, and the sense agreeable to it, scent best;

and thy judgments [are as] the light [that] goeth forth; that is, their judgments, the people's, a sudden change of person: meaning either the statutes and judgments prescribed them by the Lord, and to be observed by them; which were clear and plain as the light at noon day, and therefore could not plead any excuse of ignorance of them, that they did not observe them: or the judgments of God upon them for their sins; which were open and manifest to all, and increasing like the light, more and more, and no more to be resisted than that; and the righteousness of God in them was very conspicuous; his judgments were manifest, and the justice of them. Some understand this of the judgments or righteousnesses of the saints, both imputed and inherent, Romans 5:16; which appear light and clear, the darkness of pharisaism being removed by Christ. The Targum is,

"my judgment goes forth as the light.''

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets - Since they despised God’s gentler warnings and measures, He used severer. “He hewed” them, He says, as men hew stones out of the quarry, and with hard blows and sharp instruments overcome the hardness of the stone which they have to work. Their piety and goodness were light and unsubstantial as a summer cloud; their stony hearts were harder than the material stone. The stone takes the shape which man would give it; God hews man in vain; he will not receive the image of God, for which and in which he was framed.

God, elsewhere also, likens the force and vehemence of His word to “a hammer which breaketh the rocks in pieces” Jeremiah 23:29; “a sword which pierceth even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit” Hebrews 4:12. : He “continually hammered, beat upon, disquieted them, and so vexed them (as they thought) even unto death, not allowing them to rest in their sins, not suffering them to enjoy themselves in them, but forcing them (as it were) to part with things which they loved as their lives, and would as soon part with their souls as with them.”

And thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth - The “judgments” here are the acts of justice executed upon a man; the “judgment upon him,” as we say. God had done all which could be done, to lay aside the severity of His own judgments. All had failed. Then His judgments, when they came, would be manifestly just; their justice clear “as the light which goeth forth” out of the darkness of night, or out of the thick clouds. God’s past loving-kindness, His pains, (so to speak,) His solicitations, the drawings of His grace, the tender mercies of His austere chastisements, will, in the Day of Judgment, stand out clear as the light, and leave the sinner confounded, without excuse. In this life, also, God’s final “judgments are as a light which goeth forth,” enlightening, not the sinner who perishes, but others, heretofore in the darkness of ignorance, on whom they burst with a sudden blaze of light, and who reverence them, owning that “the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether” Psalms 19:9.

And so, since they would not be reformed, what should have been for their wealth, was for their destruction. “I slew them by the words of My mouth.” God spake yet more terribly to them. He slew them in word, that He might not slay them in deed; He threatened them with death; since they repented not, it came. The stone, which will not take the form which should have been imparted to it, is destroyed by the strokes which should have moulded it. By a like image Jeremiah compared the Jews to ore which is consumed in the fire which should refine it; since there was no good in it. “They are brass and iron; they are all corrupted; the bellows are burned, the lead is consumed of the fire; the founder melteth in vain, for the wicked are not plucked away. Reprobate silver shall men call them, because the Lord hath rejected them” Jeremiah 6:28-30.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Hosea 6:5. Therefore have I hewed them by the prophets — I have sent my prophets to testify against their fickleness. They have smitten them with the most solemn and awful threatenings; they have, as it were, slain them by the words of my mouth. But to what purpose?

Thy judgments are as the light that goeth forth — Instead of ומשפטיך אור יצא umispateycha or yetse, "and thy judgments a light that goeth forth," the versions in general have read ומשפטי כאור umishpati keor, "and my judgment is as the light." The final כ caph in the common reading has by mistake been taken from אור aur, and joined to משפטי mishpati; and thus turned it from the singular to the plural number, with the postfix כ cha. The proper reading is, most probably, "And my judgment is as the light going forth." It shall be both evident and swift; alluding both to the velocity and splendour of light.


 
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