Hosea 10:12 (KJV)

Passage

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

Nearby Context

Hosea 10:10 It is in my desire that I should chastise them; and the people shall be gathered against them, when they shall bind themselves in their two furrows.

Hosea 10:11 And Ephraim is as an heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods.

Hosea 10:12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

Hosea 10:13 Ye have plowed wickedness, ye have reaped iniquity; ye have eaten the fruit of lies: because thou didst trust in thy way, in the multitude of thy mighty men.

Hosea 10:14 Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Betharbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mercy", "yourselves", "righteousness", "reap", "break", "fallow", "ground", and "time". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercy" and "yourselves", 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 that..." into verse 13's "Ye have plowed wickedness ye have reaped...", so "mercy" and "yourselves" 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 "yourselves" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.