The Meaning of Hosea 10:12 Explained

Hosea 10:12

KJV: Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

YLT: Sow for yourselves in righteousness, Reap according to loving-kindness, Till for yourselves tillage of knowledge, To seek Jehovah, Till he come and shew righteousness to you.

Darby: Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap according to mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek Jehovah, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

ASV: Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap according to kindness; break up your fallow ground; for it is time to seek Jehovah, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Sow  to yourselves in righteousness,  reap  in  mercy;  break up  your fallow ground:  for [it is] time  to seek  the LORD,  till he come  and rain  righteousness  upon you. 

What does Hosea 10:12 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The prophet appealed to the Israelites to repent. They should cultivate righteousness with a view to reaping the Lord"s kindness (Heb. hesed). Breaking up fallow ground is what a farmer does when he plows land that has remained untouched for a long time, even forever (cf. Jeremiah 4:3). This is a figure for confessing sins and exposing them to God when they have remained unconfessed under the surface of life for a long time. It was time for the people to seek Yahweh, whom they had failed to seek in repentance for so long. They should confess and repent until the Lord sent the blessings of righteousness (deliverance, cf. Hosea 2:19) on them like rain (cf. Hosea 6:3).
This well-known verse is a good summary of what all Israel"s prophets appealed to God"s people to do throughout their history (cf. 2 Corinthians 6:2).

Context Summary

Hosea 10:1-15 - "break Up Your Fallow Ground"
Israel brought forth fruit, but not such as God could delight in. It was corrupt and evil. How great a disappointment to the Great Cultivator! The land was covered with obelisks and altars, the symbols of idolatry, and the Canaanites themselves had not been more shameless in sin. But notice the terrible judgments that must befall. There would be revolution, for when men say, We fear not the Lord, they will go on to say, We fear not the king. Beth-aven, the "house of vanity," would replace Beth-el, the "house of God." The golden calves would be carried off by the conqueror. The king would perish as foam upon the water. The yoke of conquest would be placed on Ephraim's fair neck. The fortresses of Israel would be carried by assault, with all the accompaniments of savage warfare. Is it not "an evil thing and bitter" to forsake the Lord!
Is it not time that we should look into our hearts and lives, break up the fallow ground, now covered with thorns and thistles, and begin to sow in righteousness? Let us ask God to drive the plowshares of deep soul-searching and conviction across the hard and sterile acres of our hearts, and sow them with His good seed. [source]

Chapter Summary: Hosea 10

1  Israel is reproved and threatened for their impiety and idolatry,
12  and exhorted to repentance

What do the individual words in Hosea 10:12 mean?

Sow for yourselves righteousness Reap in mercy Break up your fallow ground for [it is] time to seek - Yahweh Till He comes and rains righteousness on you
זִרְע֨וּ לָכֶ֤ם לִצְדָקָה֙ קִצְר֣וּ לְפִי־ חֶ֔סֶד נִ֥ירוּ לָכֶ֖ם נִ֑יר וְעֵת֙ לִדְר֣וֹשׁ אֶת־ יְהוָ֔ה עַד־ יָב֕וֹא וְיֹרֶ֥ה צֶ֖דֶק לָכֶֽם

זִרְע֨וּ  Sow 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: זָרַע  
Sense: to sow, scatter seed.
לָכֶ֤ם  for  yourselves 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
לִצְדָקָה֙  righteousness 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular
Root: צְדָקָה  
Sense: justice, righteousness.
קִצְר֣וּ  Reap 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: קָצוּר 
Sense: to be short, be impatient, be vexed, be grieved.
חֶ֔סֶד  mercy 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֶסֶד 
Sense: goodness, kindness, faithfulness.
נִ֥ירוּ  Break  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: נִיר  
Sense: (Qal) to break up, freshly plough or till.
לָכֶ֖ם  your 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural
נִ֑יר  fallow  ground 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: נִיר  
Sense: tillable or untilled or fallow ground.
וְעֵת֙  for  [it  is]  time 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, common singular
Root: עֵת  
Sense: time.
לִדְר֣וֹשׁ  to  seek 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: דַּרְיׄושׁ 
Sense: to resort to, seek, seek with care, enquire, require.
אֶת־  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
יְהוָ֔ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
עַד־  Till 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
יָב֕וֹא  He  comes 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
וְיֹרֶ֥ה  and  rains 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יׄורֶה 
Sense: to throw, shoot, cast, pour.
צֶ֖דֶק  righteousness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: צֶדֶק  
Sense: justice, rightness, righteousness.
לָכֶֽם  on  you 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine plural