Bible Strands
Hosea 11:6
A sword will flash through their cities; it will destroy the bars of their gates and consume them in their own plans.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God declares judgment to Israel after warning that their refusal to repent will force exile to Egypt and Assyria. The prophecy follows their persistent rebellion and precedes the assurance that their calls to God will go unanswered.
The words — חֶ֙רֶב (che.rev) = a sword; מֹֽעֲצ֖וֹת (mo.'a.Tzo.Tot) = schemes. The text states a sword will sweep through their cities, break their gate bars, and devour them using their own plotted schemes.
The thread — This theme of self-destructive rebellion and military ruin appears in Hosea 10:6, Hosea 10:14, and Hosea 13:16, where foreign tribute, demolished fortresses, and the sword directly result from Israel's defiance.
Why it lands — It requires the reader to acknowledge that relying on human strategy instead of divine direction guarantees collapse, and that external judgment is the direct mechanism of that consequence.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the sword shall abide on his cities, and shall consume his branches, and devour them, because of their own counsels.
Cross-references
- Hosea 13:16 Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.
- Hosea 10:6 Yes, it will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will be seized with shame; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.
- Hosea 10:14 the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be demolished as Shalman devastated Beth-arbel in the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to pieces along with their children.
- Leviticus 26:31 I will reduce your cities to rubble and lay waste your sanctuaries, and I will refuse to smell the pleasing aroma of your sacrifices.
- Leviticus 26:33 But I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out a sword after you as your land becomes desolate and your cities are laid waste.
- Deuteronomy 28:52 They will besiege all the cities throughout your land, until the high and fortified walls in which you trust have fallen. They will besiege all your cities throughout the land that the LORD your God has given you.
- Deuteronomy 32:25 Outside, the sword will take their children, and inside, terror will strike the young man and the young woman, the infant and the gray-haired man.
- Psalms 80:11 It sent out its branches to the Sea, and its shoots toward the River.
- Psalms 106:39 They defiled themselves by their actions and prostituted themselves by their deeds.
- Psalms 106:43 Many times He rescued them, but they were bent on rebellion and sank down in their iniquity.