Hosea 6:1 Explained

"Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up." — Hosea 6:1 (KJV)

A model penitential prayer — which the next three verses reveal to be too easy.

Read it in context: The Book of Hosea. Also gathered under verses about repentance.

Hosea 6:1 in context

What does Hosea 6:1 mean?

The verbs are startling: torn is what a lion does, and the same book has just used that image of God. The prayer accepts that the wound was given, which most repentance avoids. What God objects to is not the words but their durability — the passage is a warning that a well-formed confession can evaporate by noon, and Scripture prints the good prayer and the divine complaint side by side.

What is the context of Hosea 6:1?

Hosea's marriage to an unfaithful wife is the book's picture of Israel. Chapter 6 opens with the people's own words of repentance, and it sounds right. Then in verse 4 God answers that their goodness is like the morning cloud and the early dew that goes away.

How do I pray Hosea 6:1?

Pray it, and then read verse 4 before you get up. The pairing is the lesson: the problem is rarely the sincerity of the moment but what survives of it tomorrow. Ask for the returning to last rather than for it to feel more intense.

Carry this verse with you

Save Hosea 6:1 and a daily verse to your lock screen with Quiethaven. Read the whole Bible in the Bible app, pair it with a prayer timer, and turn Scripture into a daily habit.

Keep Hosea 6:1 close — free on iPhone.

Download on the App Store

More verses explained

From the blog