6 They will go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Yahweh; But they won't find him. He has withdrawn himself from them.
How shall I come before Yahweh, And bow myself before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, With calves a year old? Will Yahweh be pleased with thousands of rams? With tens of thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my disobedience? The fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
Then will they call on me, but I will not answer. They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me;
He said to me, Son of man, see you what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel do commit here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but you shall again see yet other great abominations.
You have covered yourself with a cloud, so that no prayer can pass through.
"What are the multitude of your sacrifices to me?," says Yahweh. "I have had enough of the burnt offerings of rams, And the fat of fed animals. I don't delight in the blood of bulls, Or of lambs, Or of male goats. When you come to appear before me, Who has required this at your hand, to trample my courts? Bring no more vain offerings. Incense is an abomination to me; New moons, Sabbaths, and convocations: I can't bear with evil assemblies. My soul hates your New Moons and your appointed feasts; They are a burden to me. I am weary of bearing them. When you spread forth your hands, I will hide my eyes from you; Yes, when you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.
The sacrifice made by the wicked is an abomination to Yahweh, But the prayer of the upright is his delight.
I hate, I despise your feasts, And I can't stand your solemn assemblies. Yes, though you offer me your burnt offerings and meal-offerings, I will not accept them; Neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat animals. Take away from me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.
Therefore will I also deal in wrath; my eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity; and though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them.
He who kills an ox is as he who kills a man; he who sacrifices a lamb, as he who breaks a dog's neck; he who offers an offering, [as he who offers] pig's blood; he who burns frankincense, as he who blesses an idol. Yes, they have chosen their own ways, and their soul delights in their abominations:
I opened to my beloved; But my beloved left; gone away. My heart went out when he spoke. I looked for him, but I didn't find him. I called him, but he didn't answer.
Pharaoh called to Moses, and said, "Go, serve Yahweh. Only let your flocks and your herds stay behind. Let your little ones also go with you." Moses said, "You must also give into our hand sacrifices and burnt-offerings, that we may sacrifice to Yahweh our God. Our cattle also shall go with us. There shall not a hoof be left behind, for of it we must take to serve Yahweh our God; and we don't know with what we must serve Yahweh, until we come there."
Moses said, "We will go with our young and with our old; with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast to Yahweh."
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Hosea 5
Commentary on Hosea 5 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 5
The scope of this chapter is the same with that of the foregoing chapter, to discover the sin both of Israel and Judah, and to denounce the judgments of God against them.
The more generally these things are expressed of so much the more general use they are for our learning, and particularly for our admonition.
Hsa 5:1-7
Here,
Hsa 5:8-15
Here is,