Hosea 5:6

Amplified Bible

They will go with their flocks and with their herds To seek the LORD [diligently searching for Him], but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn from them [refusing to hear the prayers of the unrepentant].

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
They go with their flocks and herdsto seek the Lordbut do not find him;he has withdrawn from them.

Hebrew Names Version
They will go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; But they won't find him. He has withdrawn himself from them.

King James Version
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord ; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.

English Standard Version
With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord , but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them.

New American Standard Bible
They will go with their flocks and herds To seek the LORD, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn from them.

New Century Version
They will come to worship the Lord , bringing their flocks and herds, but they will not be able to find him, because he has left them.

Geneva Bible (1587)
They shall goe with their sheepe, and with their bullockes to seeke the Lorde: but they shall not finde him: for he hath withdrawne himselfe from them.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
They will go with their flocks and herds To seek the LORD, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn from them.

Legacy Standard Bible
They will go with their flocks and herdsTo seek Yahweh, but they will not find Him;He has withdrawn from them.

Berean Standard Bible
They go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, but they do not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them.

Contemporary English Version
You offer sheep and cattle as sacrifices to me, but I have turned away and refuse to be found.

Complete Jewish Bible
With their flocks and herds they will go in search of Adonai . But they won't find him; he has withdrawn from them.

Darby Translation
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Jehovah; but they shall not find [him]: he hath withdrawn himself from them.

Easy-to-Read Version
"The leaders of the people went to look for the Lord . They took their sheep and cattle with them, but they did not find the Lord because he refused to accept them.

George Lamsa Translation
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him, because he has withdrawn himself from them.

Good News Translation
They take their sheep and cattle to offer as sacrifices to the Lord , but it does them no good. They cannot find him, for he has left them.

Lexham English Bible
With their flocks and herds they will go to seek Yahweh, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them.

Literal Translation
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Jehovah, but they shall not find Him ; He has withdrawn Himself from them.

American Standard Version
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Jehovah; but they shall not find him: he hath withdrawn himself from them.

Bible in Basic English
They will go, with their flocks and their herds, in search of the Lord, but they will not see him; he has taken himself out of their view.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
With their flocks and with their herds they shall go to seek the LORD, but they shall not find Him; He hath withdrawn Himself from them.

King James Version (1611)
They shall goe with their flocks, and with their heards to seeke the Lord: but they shall not finde him, he hath withdrawen himselfe from them.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
They shall come with their sheepe and bullockes to seeke the Lorde, but they shall not finde hym: for he is gone from them.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
They shall go with sheep and calves diligently to seek the Lord; but they shall not find him, for he has withdrawn himself from them.

English Revised Version
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him: he hath withdrawn himself from them.

World English Bible
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.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
In her flockis, and in her droues thei schulen go to seke the Lord, and thei schulen not fynde; he is takun awei fro hem.

Update Bible Version
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Yahweh; but they shall not find him: he has withdrawn himself from them.

Webster's Bible Translation
They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find [him]; he hath withdrawn himself from them.

New English Translation
Although they bring their flocks and herds to seek the favor of the Lord , They will not find him— he has withdrawn himself from them!

New King James Version
"With their flocks and herds They shall go to seek the LORD, But they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them.

New Living Translation
When they come with their flocks and herds to offer sacrifices to the Lord , they will not find him, because he has withdrawn from them.

New Life Bible
They will go with their flocks and cattle to look for the Lord, but they will not find Him. He has gone away from them.

New Revised Standard
With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord , but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
With their flocks and with their herds, will they go to seek Yahweh, but shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.

Douay-Rheims Bible
With their flocks and with their herds, they shall go to seek the Lord, and shall not find him: he is withdrawn from them.

Revised Standard Version
With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the LORD, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them.

Young's Literal Translation
With their flock and with their herd, They go to seek Jehovah, and do not find, He hath withdrawn from them.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
They shall come with their shepe & bullockes to seke ye LORDE, but they shal not fynde him, for he is gone from them.

Contextual Overview

¹Hear this and pay close attention, O priests! Give heed, O house of Israel! Listen, O house of the king! For the [pronounced] judgment pertains to you and is meant for you to hear, Because you have been a snare at Mizpah And a net spread out over Tabor (military strongholds on either side of the Jordan River). ²The revolters have gone deep into depravity, But I [the LORD God] will chastise them all. ³I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me; For now, O Ephraim, you have played the prostitute and have worshiped idols; Israel has defiled itself. ⁴Their [immoral] practices will not permit them To return to their God, For the spirit of prostitution is within them And they do not know the LORD [they do not recognize, appreciate, heed or cherish Him]. ⁵But the pride and self-reliance of Israel testifies against him. Therefore Israel, and [especially] Ephraim, stumble and fall in their wickedness and guilt; Judah also has stumbled with them. ⁶They will go with their flocks and with their herds To seek the LORD [diligently searching for Him], but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn from them [refusing to hear the prayers of the unrepentant].⁷They have dealt treacherously against the LORD, For they have borne illegitimate (pagan) children. Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land [bringing judgment and captivity].

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

go: Exodus 10:9, Exodus 10:24-26, Proverbs 15:8, Proverbs 21:27, Jeremiah 7:4, Micah 6:6, Micah 6:7

they: Proverbs 1:28, Isaiah 1:11-15, Isaiah 66:3, Jeremiah 11:11, Lamentations 3:44, Ezekiel 8:18, Amos 5:21-23, Micah 3:4, John 7:34

he: Song of Solomon 5:6, Luke 5:16

Reciprocal: Exodus 10:26 - cattle Isaiah 29:1 - add Jeremiah 11:14 - for Hosea 3:5 - seek Hosea 5:15 - return Hosea 8:13 - but

Cross-References

Genesis 4:26
To Seth, also, a son was born, whom he named Enosh (mortal man, mankind). At that [same] time men began to call on the name of the LORD [in worship through prayer, praise, and thanksgiving].

Gill's Notes on the Bible

They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the Lord,.... Not only the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, to whom Kimchi, Aben Ezra, and Abarbinel, restrain the words; but the ten tribes of Israel also, who, when in distress, and seeing ruin coming upon them, should seek the Lord; seek help from him against their enemies, and the pardon of their sins; seek his face and favour, and to appease his wrath, by bringing a multitude of sacrifices out of their flocks and herds; such a number of them, as if they brought all their flocks and herds with them; but not with true repentance for their sins, nor with faith in the great sacrifice, which legal sacrifices, rightly performed, prefigured. Kimchi refers this to the times of Josiah; but, as it respects Israel as well as Judah, it seems to design some time a little before the ruin of them both:

but they shall not find [him]; shall not find grace and mercy with him; he will not be favourable to them, will not afford them any help, but give them up to utter ruin and destruction; as he did Israel at the Assyrian captivity, and Judah at the Babylonish captivity:

he hath withdrawn himself from them; the glory of the Lord departed from them; his Shechinah, or divine Majesty, as the Targum, removed from them, because of their idolatry, and other sins; they sought him not where and while he was to be found; and therefore, when they sought him, found him not, because he had withdrawn his presence from among them, being provoked by their iniquities.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

They shall go with their flocks - “They had let slip the day of grace, wherein God had called them to repentance, and promised to be found of them and to accept them. When then the decree was gone forth and judgment determined against them, all their outward shew of worship and late repentance shall not prevail to gain admittance for them to Him. He will not be found of them, hear them, nor accept them. They stopped their ears obstinately against Him calling on them, and proffering mercy in the day of mercy: He will now stop His ear against them, crying for it in the Day of Judgment.” Repenting thus late, (as is the case with most who repent, or think that they repent, at the close of life) they did not repent out of the love of God, but out of slavish fear, on account of the calamity which was coming upon them. But the main truth, contained in this and other passages of Holy Scripture which speak of a time when it is too late to turn to God, is this: that “it shall be too late to knock when the door shall be shut, and too late to cry for mercy when it is the time of justice.”

God waits long for sinners; He threatens long before He strikes; He strikes and pierces in lesser degrees, and with increasing severity, before the final blow comes. In this life, He places man in a new state of trial, even after His first judgments have fallen on the sinner. But the general rule of His dealings is this; that, when the time of each judgment is actually come, then, as to “that” judgment, it is too late to pray. It is “not” too late for other mercy, or for final forgiveness, so long as man’s state of probation lasts; but it is too late as to this one. And thus, each judgment in time is a picture of the eternal judgment, when the day of mercy is past forever, to those who have finally, in this life, hardened themselves against it. But temporal mercies correspond with temporal judgments; eternal mercy with eternal judgment. In time, it may be too late to turn away temporal judgments; it is not too late, while God continues grace, to flee from eternal; and the desire not to lose God, is a proof to the soul that it is not forsaken by God, by whom alone the longing for Himself is kept alive or re-awakened in His creature.

They shall not find Him - This befell the Jews in the time of Josiah. Josiah himself “turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses” 2 Kings 23:25-27. He put away idolatry thoroughly; and the people so tier followed his example. He held such a Passover, as had not been held since the time of the judges. “Notwithstanding the Lord turned not from the fierceness of this great wrath, wherewith His anger was kindled against Judah because of all the provocations that Manasseh had provoked Him withal. And the Lord said, I will remove Judah out of My sight, as I have removed Israel, and will cast off this city Jerusalem, which I have chosen, and the house of which I said, My name shall be there.”

The prophet describes the people, as complying with God’s commands; “they shall go,” i. e., to the place which God had chosen and commanded, “with their flocks and their herds,” i. e., with the most costly sacrifices, “the flocks” supplying the sheep and goats prescribed by the law; the “herds” supplying the bullocks, calves and heifers offered. They seem to have come, so far, sincerely. Yet perhaps it is not without further meaning, that the prophet speaks of those outward sacrifices only, not of the heart; and the reformation under Josiah may therefore have failed, because the people were too ingrained with sin under Manasseh, and returned outwardly only under Josiah, as they fell back again after his death. And so God speaketh here, as He does by David, “I will take no bullock out of thine house, nor he-goat out of thy fold. Thinkest thou, that I will eat bulls’ flesh, or drink the blood of goats?” Psalms 50:9, Psalms 50:13, and by Isaiah, “To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto Me? I am full of the burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts” Isaiah 1:11.

He hath withdrawn Himself from them - Perhaps he would say, that God, as it were “freed Himself” from them, as He saith in Isaiah, “I am weary to bear them” Isaiah 1:14, the union of sacrifices and of sin.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Hosea 5:6. They shall go with their flocks — They shall offer many sacrifices, professing to seek and be reconciled to the Lord; but they shall not find him. As they still retain the spirit of their idolatry, he has withdrawn himself from them.