The Meaning of Hosea 6:3 Explained

Hosea 6:3

KJV: Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth.

YLT: And we know -- we pursue to know Jehovah, As the dawn prepared is His going forth, And He cometh in as a shower to us, As gathered rain -- sprinkling earth.'

Darby: and we shall know, we shall follow on to know Jehovah: his going forth is assured as the morning dawn; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain which watereth the earth.

ASV: And let us know, let us follow on to know Jehovah: his going forth is sure as the morning; and he will come unto us as the rain, as the latter rain that watereth the earth.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Then shall we know,  [if] we follow  on to know  the LORD:  his going forth  is prepared  as the morning;  and he shall come  unto us as the rain,  as the latter  [and] former rain  unto the earth. 

What does Hosea 6:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Such a hope would motivate this revived generation of Israelites to encourage themselves to pursue intensely knowing (acknowledging) Yahweh as the true God and as their God (cf. Hosea 4:1; Hosea 4:6; Hosea 5:4). They would be confident of His restoration because of His character, His faithfulness to His promises (e.g, Hosea 5:15), and His power. His return to bless them would be as certain and as life-giving as the sunrise. He would bring refreshment and fertility back to the nation (cf. Deuteronomy 11:13-15). No more would they look to Baal for these blessings.
Corporate Israel has never prayed like this. The fulfillment must still be future, at the beginning of Christ"s millennial reign.

Context Summary

Hosea 6:1-11 - "let Us Return Unto The Lord"
How full Scripture is of tender invitations: Come, and let us return! This opening verse is closely connected with Hosea 5:15. The hand that smote was the Father's who waited to welcome the prodigal nation with healing and up-binding. When the sun seems to dip below the horizon, we begin to travel toward its rising again. Then we follow on, to behold the glorious dawn of the next day, which is prepared for us. Presently we catch the first glimpse, and soon come into its full splendor. The sun does not move toward us, but we toward it. So when the soul turns toward God, if only it is willing to do His will, it has begun to follow on toward the light of His countenance, which presently will be revealed in its full radiance. God's favor is also compared to the fertilizing rain, for its certainty and refreshment, Genesis 8:22.
While God's love is constant, our religious life is fickle and changeful. Emotion is evanescent as the morning clouds, which in Palestine vanish by nine or ten o'clock. Our Lord quoted Hosea 5:6 in Matthew 9:13; Matthew 12:7. The pomp of outward ritual, however ornate, counts less with God than one contrite sigh or tear. [source]

Chapter Summary: Hosea 6

1  Exhortations to repent and hope in God
4  A lamentation over those who had sinned after conviction
5  Reproofs of obstinate sinners, and threats against them

What do the individual words in Hosea 6:3 mean?

And let us know let us pursue the knowledge of Yahweh As the morning is established His going forth and He will come like the rain to us Like the latter [and] former rain to the earth
וְנֵדְעָ֣ה נִרְדְּפָ֗ה לָדַ֙עַת֙ אֶת־ יְהוָ֔ה כְּשַׁ֖חַר נָכ֣וֹן מֽוֹצָא֑וֹ וְיָב֤וֹא כַגֶּ֙שֶׁם֙ לָ֔נוּ כְּמַלְק֖וֹשׁ י֥וֹרֶה אָֽרֶץ

וְנֵדְעָ֣ה  And  let  us  know 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Imperfect Cohortative, first person common plural
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
נִרְדְּפָ֗ה  let  us  pursue 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect Cohortative, first person common plural
Root: רָדַף  
Sense: to be behind, follow after, pursue, persecute, run after.
לָדַ֙עַת֙  the  knowledge 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: דָּעָה 
Sense: to know.
יְהוָ֔ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
כְּשַׁ֖חַר  As  the  morning 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שַׁחַר  
Sense: dawn.
נָכ֣וֹן  is  established 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: כּוּן 
Sense: to be firm, be stable, be established.
מֽוֹצָא֑וֹ  His  going  forth 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: מֹוצָא  
Sense: act or place of going out or forth, issue, export, source, spring.
וְיָב֤וֹא  and  He  will  come 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
כַגֶּ֙שֶׁם֙  like  the  rain 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: גֶּשֶׁם  
Sense: rain, shower.
לָ֔נוּ  to  us 
Parse: Preposition, first person common plural
כְּמַלְק֖וֹשׁ  Like  the  latter 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מַלְקֹושׁ  
Sense: latter rain, spring rain.
י֥וֹרֶה  [and]  former  rain 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄורֶה  
Sense: early rain, autumn shower.
אָֽרֶץ  to  the  earth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.