The Meaning of Hosea 6:1 Explained

Hosea 6:1

KJV: Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

YLT: 'Come, and we turn back unto Jehovah, For He hath torn, and He doth heal us, He doth smite, and He bindeth us up.

Darby: Come and let us return unto Jehovah: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

ASV: Come, and let us return unto Jehovah; for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Come,  and let us return  unto the LORD:  for he hath torn,  and he will heal  us; he hath smitten,  and he will bind us up. 

What does Hosea 6:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The repentant Israelites would encourage each other to return to Yahweh because they believed He would heal them (as a shepherd, cf. Hosea 5:13) even though He had torn and wounded them (as a lion, cf. Hosea 5:14). They would recognize that their punishment had come from Him, not just from a foreign enemy (cf. Deuteronomy 32:39).

Context Summary

Hosea 6:1-11 - "let Us Return Unto The Lord"
How full Scripture is of tender invitations: Come, and let us return! This opening verse is closely connected with Hosea 5:15. The hand that smote was the Father's who waited to welcome the prodigal nation with healing and up-binding. When the sun seems to dip below the horizon, we begin to travel toward its rising again. Then we follow on, to behold the glorious dawn of the next day, which is prepared for us. Presently we catch the first glimpse, and soon come into its full splendor. The sun does not move toward us, but we toward it. So when the soul turns toward God, if only it is willing to do His will, it has begun to follow on toward the light of His countenance, which presently will be revealed in its full radiance. God's favor is also compared to the fertilizing rain, for its certainty and refreshment, Genesis 8:22.
While God's love is constant, our religious life is fickle and changeful. Emotion is evanescent as the morning clouds, which in Palestine vanish by nine or ten o'clock. Our Lord quoted Hosea 5:6 in Matthew 9:13; Matthew 12:7. The pomp of outward ritual, however ornate, counts less with God than one contrite sigh or tear. [source]

Chapter Summary: Hosea 6

1  Exhortations to repent and hope in God
4  A lamentation over those who had sinned after conviction
5  Reproofs of obstinate sinners, and threats against them

What do the individual words in Hosea 6:1 mean?

Come and let us return to Yahweh For He has torn but He will heal us He has stricken but He will bind us up
לְכוּ֙ וְנָשׁ֣וּבָה אֶל־ יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֛י ה֥וּא טָרָ֖ף וְיִרְפָּאֵ֑נוּ יַ֖ךְ וְיַחְבְּשֵֽׁנוּ

לְכוּ֙  Come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
וְנָשׁ֣וּבָה  and  let  us  return 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative, first person common plural
Root: שׁוּב  
Sense: to return, turn back.
יְהוָ֔ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
טָרָ֖ף  has  torn 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: טָרַף  
Sense: to tear, rend, pluck.
וְיִרְפָּאֵ֑נוּ  but  He  will  heal  us 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular, first person common plural
Root: רָפָא  
Sense: to heal, make healthful.
יַ֖ךְ  He  has  stricken 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect Jussive, third person masculine singular
Root: נָכָה  
Sense: to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill.
וְיַחְבְּשֵֽׁנוּ  but  He  will  bind  us  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular, first person common plural
Root: חָבַשׁ  
Sense: to tie, bind, bind on, bind up, saddle, restrain, bandage, govern.