Hosea 10:12 (GNV)

Passage

Sowe to your selues in righteousnes: reape after the measure of mercy: breake vp your fallowe grounde: for it is time to seeke the Lord, till he come and raine righteousnesse vpon you.

Nearby Context

Hosea 10:10 It is my desire that I should chastice them, and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall gather themselues in their two furrowes.

Hosea 10:11 And Ephraim is as an heifer vsed to delite in threshing: but I will passe by her faire necke: I will make Ephraim to ride: Iudah shall plowe, and Iaakob shall breake his cloddes.

Hosea 10:12 Sowe to your selues in righteousnes: reape after the measure of mercy: breake vp your fallowe grounde: for it is time to seeke the Lord, till he come and raine righteousnesse vpon you.

Hosea 10:13 But you haue plowed wickednesse: ye haue reaped iniquitie: you haue eaten the fruite of lies: because thou didest trust in thine owne waies, and in the multitude of thy strong men,

Hosea 10:14 Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy munitions shall be destroyed, as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbell in the daie of battell: the mother with the children was dashed in pieces.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mercy", "sowe", "selues", "righteousnes", "reape", "after", "measure", and "breake". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercy" and "sowe", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "And Ephraim is as an heifer vsed..." into verse 13's "But you haue plowed wickednesse ye haue...", so "mercy" and "sowe" 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 "sowe" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.