Berean Standard Bible
6For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
God Desires Mercy Not Sacrifice
Hosea 6:6
Licensed translations and the original language
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King James Version
6For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Translation for Translators
T4T was designed as a tool for Bible translators, not as a devotional text. It makes implicit meaning explicit and flags figurative language with abbreviations. Gold [brackets] indicate translation notes. ◄Triangles► mark alternative renderings.Read more about how to read T4T →6I want my people to faithfully love me more than I want them to offer sacrifices to me; I want them to know me more than I want them to completely burn sacrifices on the altar.
Berean Standard Bible
King James Version
6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
Berean Standard Bible
King James Version
Translation for Translators
T4T was designed as a tool for Bible translators, not as a devotional text. It makes implicit meaning explicit and flags figurative language with abbreviations. Gold [brackets] indicate translation notes. ◄Triangles► mark alternative renderings.Read more about how to read T4T →6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
I want my people to faithfully love me more than I want them to offer sacrifices to me; I want them to know me more than I want them to completely burn sacrifices on the altar.
WLC
Hebrew, word by word
6
כִּ֛י and כִּי kîy a primitive particle (the full form of the prepositional prefix) indicating causal relations of all kinds, antecedent or consequent; (by implication) very widel חֶ֥סֶד steadfast love חֵסֵד chêçêd from H2616 (חָסַד); kindness; by implication (towards God) piety; rarely (by opposition) reproof, or (subject.) beauty favour, good deed(-liness, -ness), kindly חָפַ֖צְתִּי delight חָפֵץ châphêts a primitive root; properly, to incline to; by implication (literally but rarely) to bend; figuratively, to be pleased with, desire [idiom] any at all, (have, ta וְלֹא ere לֹא lôʼ or לוֹא; or לֹה; (Deuteronomy 3:11), a primitive particle; not (the simple or abs. negation); by implication, no; often used with other particles [idiom] before ־ זָ֑בַח offer זֶבַח zebach from H2076 (זָבַח); properly, a slaughter, i.e. the flesh of an animal; by implication, a sacrifice (the victim or the act) offer(-ing), sacrifice. וְדַ֥עַת cunning דַּעַת daʻath from H3045 (יָדַע); knowledge cunning, (ig-) norantly, know(-ledge), (un-) awares (wittingly). אֱלֹהִ֖ים God אֱלֹהִים ʼĕlôhîym plural of H433 (אֱלוֹהַּ); gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally מֵעֹלֽוֹת ascent עֹלָה ʻôlâh or עוֹלָה; feminine active participle of H5927 (עָלָה); a step or (collectively, stairs, as ascending); usually a holocaust (as going up in smoke) ascent, burnt ׃
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Functional Faith Reading
The Hebrew word here is hesed — steadfast, faithful, covenant love — and the verse sets it directly against zebach, the ritual act of slaughter at the altar. Jehovah is not weighing two religious options against each other. He is cutting through the whole category of religious performance to name what he actually wants.
The common reading turns this verse into a soft correction — God prefers kindness to cruelty, heart to habit. That reading is true as far as it goes, but it domesticates something much sharper. Hosea is not coaching Israel toward better religion. He is exposing religion as the evasion itself.
The Pioneer would later quote this exact passage twice — once when defending table fellowship with the wrong people, once when his disciples were accused over grain on the Sabbath. Both times he used it the same way Hosea did: to show that the Father's character is hesed first, structure second. The Pioneer did not invent this vision of God. He embodied a Father who had always been this way.
For someone walking the Way, this means that showing up relationally — staying present with people in their disorder — counts as worship in ways that correct liturgical attendance does not automatically provide.
Sit with this
What would it cost you this week to choose hesed over the ritual that keeps you feeling safe?
Sources