Hosea 12:6

But you must return to your God; maintain love and justice, and always wait on your God.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The prophet addresses Israel directly, mid-indictment, between a declaration of the LORD's name (v. 5) and a rebuke of their commercial dishonesty (v. 7).

The words — חֶסֶד (chesed, H2617) is rendered "loyalty" in the BSB, not "love"; it denotes covenantal faithfulness, not affection. קָוֶה (qavah, H6960) is a strong imperative, "wait," not a passive expectation.

The thread — Micah 6:8 pairs justice, mercy, and humility in the same triad; Lamentations 3:25 ties waiting on the LORD to goodness; Hosea 14:1 repeats the call to return.

Why it lands — It is a command issued to a people already caught in fraud (v. 7): return, keep covenant loyalty and justice, and wait — not as options but as the minimum the LORD requires.

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

וְאַתָּ֖הve./'a.Tahand/ you בֵּאלֹהֶ֣יךָbe./lo.Hei./khain/ God/ your תָשׁ֑וּבta.Shuvyou will return חֶ֤סֶדChe.sedloyalty וּמִשְׁפָּט֙u./mish.Patand/ justice שְׁמֹ֔רshe.Morkeep וְקַוֵּ֥הve./ka.Vehand/ wait אֶל־'el-to אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ'e.lo.Hei./khaGod/ your תָּמִֽיד׃ta.Midcontinually

King James Version

Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually.

Cross-references

Micah 6:8 He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you but to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?
Lamentations 3:25 The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.
Hosea 14:1 Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity.
Micah 7:7 But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.
Hosea 6:1 Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us to pieces, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bind up our wounds.
Zechariah 7:9 “This is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Administer true justice. Show loving devotion and compassion to one another.
Acts 2:38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
James 2:13 For judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment.
Genesis 49:18 I await Your salvation, O LORD.
Psalms 27:14 Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!