Bible Strands
Hosea 6:9
Like raiders who lie in ambush, so does a band of priests; they murder on the way to Shechem; surely they have committed atrocities.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Hosea delivers this pronouncement to the house of Israel and its priests immediately after condemning Gilead’s bloodshed. The declaration follows a broader indictment of the nation’s covenant failure.
The words — The text describes `גְּדוּדִים` (ge.du.Dim, marauding bands) and `יְרַצְּחוּ` (ye.ra.tze.chu, they murder) as the actions of a priestly group. These terms directly equate the priests with violent ambushers operating on a public route.
The thread — The ambush motif parallels the blood-luring in Proverbs 1:11, while the predatory leadership mirrors the wolf-like princes in Zephaniah 3:3. The explicit warning to priests and the royal house ties directly to the judgment framework in Hosea 5:1.
Why it lands — The verse states that religious officials are executing violent crimes and demands that readers hold sacred office to the same moral standard as the general population. It requires immediate recognition that institutional authority does not excuse or conceal criminal behavior.
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 as troops of robbers wait for a man, so the company of priests murder in the way by consent: for they commit lewdness.
Cross-references
- Proverbs 1:11 If they say, “Come along, let us lie in wait for blood, let us ambush the innocent without cause,
- Zephaniah 3:3 Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.
- Hosea 5:1 “Hear this, O priests! Take heed, O house of Israel! Give ear, O royal house! For this judgment is against you because you have been a snare at Mizpah, a net spread out on Tabor.
- Hosea 7:1 When I heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim will be exposed, as well as the crimes of Samaria. For they practice deceit and thieves break in; bandits raid in the streets.
- Ezra 8:31 On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem, and the hand of our God was upon us to protect us from the hands of the enemies and bandits along the way.
- Job 1:15 the Sabeans swooped down and took them away. They put the servants to the sword, and I alone have escaped to tell you!”
- Jeremiah 7:9 Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal, and follow other gods that you have not known,
- Jeremiah 11:9 And the LORD told me, “There is a conspiracy among the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem.
- Ezekiel 22:9 Among you are slanderous men bent on bloodshed; within you are those who eat on the mountain shrines and commit acts of indecency.
- Ezekiel 22:27 Her officials within her are like wolves tearing their prey, shedding blood, and destroying lives for dishonest gain.