Hosea 6:6 (KJV)

Passage

For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

Nearby Context

Hosea 6:4 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 early dew it goeth away.

Hosea 6:5 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.

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

Hosea 6:7 But they like men have transgressed the covenant: there have they dealt treacherously against me.

Hosea 6:8 Gilead is a city of them that work iniquity, and is polluted with blood.

Study Lenses

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

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