Bible Strands
Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — God speaks to Israel in the wake of prophetic judgment (6:5), just before calling them covenant-transgressors like Adam (6:7). The verse is His stated preference against what they are bringing.
The words — חֶסֶד (chesed) is the operative term: covenant loyalty, not generic mercy. It names the specific relational debt Israel owes, not a vague sentiment.
The thread — Jesus quotes this verse twice in Matthew (9:13; 12:7) to correct Pharisaic legalism. Proverbs 21:3 independently states the same priority: righteousness over sacrifice.
Why it lands — It strips the assumption that religious activity substitutes for faithfulness. The reader is asked to check whether their own practice is performance or loyalty.
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
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Cross-references
- Matthew 9:13 But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
- Matthew 12:7 If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.
- Proverbs 21:3 To do righteousness and justice is more desirable to the LORD than sacrifice.
- 1 Samuel 15:22 But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.
- Amos 5:21 “I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
- Ecclesiastes 5:1 Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. Draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools, who do not know that they do wrong.
- Isaiah 1:11 “What good to Me is your multitude of sacrifices?” says the LORD. “I am full from the burnt offerings of rams and the fat of well-fed cattle; I take no delight in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
- Jeremiah 22:16 He took up the cause of the poor and needy, and so it went well with him. Is this not what it means to know Me?” declares the LORD.
- Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
- Daniel 4:27 Therefore, may my advice be pleasing to you, O king. Break away from your sins by doing what is right, and from your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed. Perhaps there will be an extension of your prosperity.”