Hosea 6:4 (DRB)

Passage

What shall I do to thee, O Ephraim? what shall I do to thee, O Juda? your mercy is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goeth away in the morning.

Nearby Context

Hosea 6:2 For he hath taken us, and he will heal us: he will strike, and he will cure us.

Hosea 6:3 He will revive us after two days: on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. We shall know, and we shall follow on, that we may know the Lord. His going forth is prepared as the morning light, and he will come to us as the early and the latter rain to the earth.

Hosea 6:4 What shall I do to thee, O Ephraim? what shall I do to thee, O Juda? your mercy is as a morning cloud, and as the dew that goeth away in the morning.

Hosea 6:5 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.

Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice: and the knowledge of God more than holocausts.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mercy", "shall", "thee", "ephraim", "juda", and "morning". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercy" and "shall", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "He will revive us after two days..." into verse 5's "For this reason have I hewed them...", so "mercy" and "shall" belong inside that flow. In Hosea context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "mercy" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.