Bible Strands
Hosea 7:10
Israel’s arrogance testifies against them, yet they do not return to the LORD their God; despite all this, they do not seek Him.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet speaks for the LORD to the northern kingdom of Israel during a period of political instability and spiritual decay. The warning highlights their failure to recognize divine discipline amid foreign exploitation.
The words — The Hebrew גְאֽוֹן (ge'on) denotes the pride or arrogance that stands as evidence against the nation, while שָׁ֙בוּ (shavu) literally means they have returned or repented. Together they frame the verse’s core claim: Israel’s pride testifies against them, yet they do not return to Yahweh.
The thread — Hosea 5:5 records the same pattern of pride testifying and stumbling in iniquity without mentioning a refusal to return. Isaiah 9:13 explicitly pairs the failure to return to the One who struck them with the failure to seek the LORD of Hosts. Psalm 53:2 contrasts Israel’s inaction with God’s active search for those who seek Him.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that political maneuvering and self-reliance cannot substitute for repentance. It requires the reader to confront the reality that ignoring divine correction guarantees collapse.
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 pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for all this.
Cross-references
- Hosea 5:5 Israel’s arrogance testifies against them; Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; even Judah stumbles with them.
- Isaiah 9:13 But the people did not return to Him who struck them; they did not seek the LORD of Hosts.
- Psalms 53:2 God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.
- Amos 4:6 “I afflicted all your cities with cleanness of teeth and all your towns with lack of bread, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
- Psalms 10:4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his schemes there is no God.
- Psalms 14:2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.
- Proverbs 27:22 Though you grind a fool like grain with mortar and a pestle, yet his folly will not depart from him.
- Jeremiah 3:3 Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.
- Jeremiah 8:5 Why then have these people turned away? Why does Jerusalem always turn away? They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.
- Jeremiah 25:5 The prophets told you, ‘Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and deeds, and you can dwell in the land that the LORD has given to you and your fathers forever and ever.