Hosea 6:6 (GNV)

Passage

For I desired mercie, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more then burnt offrings.

Nearby Context

Hosea 6:4 O Ephraim, what shall I doe vnto thee? O Iudah, how shall I intreate thee? for your goodnesse is as a morning cloude, and as the morning dewe it goeth away.

Hosea 6:5 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.

Hosea 6:6 For I desired mercie, and not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God more then burnt offrings.

Hosea 6:7 But they like men haue transgressed the couenant: there haue they trespassed against me.

Hosea 6:8 Gilead is a citie of them that worke iniquitie, and is polluted with blood.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "desired", "mercie", "sacrifice", "knowledge", "burnt", and "offrings". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "desired" and "mercie", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 5's "Therefore haue I cut downe by the..." into verse 7's "But they like men haue transgressed the...", so "desired" and "mercie" 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 "desired" and "mercie" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.