Discovery BoxHosea 6:6 
Context6:6 For I delight in faithfulness, not simply in sacrifice;
I delight 1 in acknowledging God, not simply in whole burnt offerings. 2
Hosea 8:2
Context8:2 Israel cries out to me,
“My God, we acknowledge you!”
Hosea 8:6
Context8:6 That idol was made by a workman – it is not God!
The calf idol of Samaria will be broken to bits.
Hosea 9:17
Context9:17 My God will reject them,
for they have not obeyed him;
so they will be fugitives among the nations.
Hosea 12:3
Context12:3 In the womb he attacked his brother;
in his manly vigor he struggled 3 with God.
Hosea 14:1
Context14:1 Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for your sin has been your downfall! 4
1 tn The phrase “I delight” does not appear in the Hebrew text a second time in this verse, but is implied from the parallelism in the preceding line.
2 sn Contrary to popular misunderstanding, Hosea does not reject animal sacrifice nor cultic ritual, and advocate instead obedience only. Rather, God does not delight in ritual sacrifice without the accompanying prerequisite moral obedience (1 Sam 15:22; Pss 40:6-8; 51:16-17; Prov 21:3; Isa 1:11-17; Jer 7:21-23; Hos 6:6; Mic 6:6-8). However, if prerequisite moral obedience is present, he delights in sacrificial worship as an outward expression (Ps 51:19). Presented by a repentant obedient worshiper, whole burnt offerings were “an aroma pleasing” to the
3 tn The verb שָׂרָה (sarah) means “to strive, contend” (HALOT 1354 s.v. שׂרה) or “persevere, persist” (BDB 975 s.v. שָׂרָה; see Gen 32:29). Almost all English versions render the verb here in terms of the former: NAB, NASB “contended”; NRSV “strove”; TEV, CEV “fought against.”
4 tn Heb “For you have stumbled in your iniquity”; NASB, NRSV “because of your iniquity.”
