They go with their flocks and herds to seek the LORD, but they do not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them.
Parallel translations
- WEB They will go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Yahweh; but they won’t find him. He has withdrawn himself from them.
- KJV They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek the LORD; but they shall not find him; he hath withdrawn himself from them.
- NKJV “With their flocks and herds They shall go to seek the Lord, But they will not find Him; He has withdrawn Himself from them.
- NASB They will go with their flocks and herds To seek the Lord, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn from them.
- NLT When they come with their flocks and herds to offer sacrifices to the Lord, they will not find him, because he has withdrawn from them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
When the people finally seek the Lord with their sacrifices, they will not find Him, for He has withdrawn. Late, insincere seeking cannot compel God's favor.
Overview
Israel will bring flocks and herds to seek the Lord, but the search will fail because God has withdrawn Himself in judgment. The problem is not God's unwillingness to be found by the truly repentant, but a seeking that relies on outward sacrifice without genuine turning of heart. The verse warns that there comes a point where formal religion cannot recover what unrepentant sin has forfeited, underscoring the need to seek God sincerely while He may be found.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Prov 1:28Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.
- John 7:34You will look for Me, but you will not find Me; and where I am, you cannot come.”
- Mic 6:6–7With what shall I come before the LORD when I bow before the God on high? Should I come to Him with burnt offerings, with year-old calves?
- Ezek 8:6“Son of man,” He said to me, “do you see what they are doing—the great abominations that the house of Israel is committing—to drive Me far from My sanctuary? Yet you will see even greater abominations.”
- Prov 15:8The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable to the LORD, but the prayer of the upright is His delight.
- Lam 3:44You have covered Yourself with a cloud that no prayer can pass through.
- Isa 1:11–15“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.
- Jer 7:4Do not trust in deceptive words, chanting: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’
- Isa 66:3Whoever slaughters an ox is like one who slays a man; whoever sacrifices a lamb is like one who breaks a dog’s neck; whoever presents a grain offering is like one who offers pig’s blood; whoever offers frankincense is like one who blesses an idol. Indeed, they have chosen their own ways and delighted in their abominations.
- Exod 10:9“We will go with our young and old,” Moses replied. “We will go with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.”
- Prov 21:27The sacrifice of the wicked is detestable—how much more so when brought with ill intent!
- Luke 5:16Yet He frequently withdrew to the wilderness to pray.
- Amos 5:21–23“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies.
- Jer 11:11Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to bring upon them a disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them.
- Exod 10:24–26Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the LORD. Even your little ones may go with you; only your flocks and herds must stay behind.”
- Song 5:6I opened for my beloved, but he had turned and gone. My heart sank at his departure. I sought him, but did not find him. I called, but he did not answer.
- Mic 3:4Then they will cry out to the LORD, but He will not answer them. At that time He will hide His face from them because of the evil they have done.
- Ezek 8:18Therefore I will respond with wrath. I will not look on them with pity, nor will I spare them. Although they shout loudly in My ears, I will not listen to them.”
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Christ at the center
God's relentless love for an unfaithful bride dramatizes the gospel: 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled in Jesus, who redeems an adulterous people at his own cost.
How Hosea 5:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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