Hosea 6:4 (WEB)

Passage

“Ephraim, what shall I do to you? Judah, what shall I do to you? For your love is like a morning cloud, and like the dew that disappears early.

Nearby Context

Hosea 6:2 After two days he will revive us. On the third day he will raise us up, and we will live before him.

Hosea 6:3 Let us acknowledge Yahweh. Let us press on to know Yahweh. As surely as the sun rises, Yahweh will appear. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain that waters the earth.”

Hosea 6:4 “Ephraim, what shall I do to you? Judah, what shall I do to you? For your love is like a morning cloud, and like the dew that disappears early.

Hosea 6:5 Therefore I have cut them to pieces with the prophets; I killed them with the words of my mouth. Your judgments are like a flash of lightning.

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

Study Lenses

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

The nearby context moves from verse 3's "Let us acknowledge Yahweh Let us press..." into verse 5's "Therefore I have cut them to pieces...", so "ephraim" 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 "ephraim" and "shall" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.