Hosea 12:6

God's Case Against Jacob's Heirs

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Even the Lord, the God of hosts,
The name of Him [who spoke with Jacob] is the Lord.
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Therefore, return [in repentance] to your God,
Observe and highly regard kindness and justice,
And wait [expectantly] for your God continually.
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A merchant, in whose hand are false and fraudulent balances;
He loves to oppress and exploit.

Hope in God

Righteousness and Justice

Love And Justice

Micah 6:8

He has told you, O man, what is good;
And what does the Lord require of you
Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion),
And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness]?

Hosea 14:1

O Israel, return [in repentance] to the Lord your God,
For you have stumbled and fallen [visited by tragedy], because of your sin.

Joel 2:13

Rip your heart to pieces [in sorrow and contrition] and not your garments.”
Now return [in repentance] to the Lord your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness [faithful to His covenant with His people];
And He relents [His sentence of] evil [when His people genuinely repent].

Genesis 49:18

“I wait for Your salvation, O Lord.

Psalm 27:14

Wait for and confidently expect the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord.

Psalm 37:7

Be still before the Lord; wait patiently for Him and entrust yourself to Him;
Do not fret (whine, agonize) because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

Psalm 123:2

Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
And as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He is gracious and favorable toward us.

Psalm 130:5-7

I wait [patiently] for the Lord, my soul [expectantly] waits,
And in His word do I hope.

Proverbs 1:23

“If you will turn and pay attention to my rebuke,
Behold, I [Wisdom] will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.

Proverbs 21:3

To do righteousness and justice
Is more acceptable to the Lord than sacrifice [for wrongs repeatedly committed].

Isaiah 1:16

“Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean;
Get your evil deeds out of My sight.
Stop doing evil,

Isaiah 8:17

And I will wait for the Lord who is hiding His face from the house of Jacob; and I will look eagerly for Him.

Isaiah 30:18

Therefore the Lord waits [expectantly] and longs to be gracious to you,
And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you.
For the Lord is a God of justice;
Blessed (happy, fortunate) are all those who long for Him [since He will never fail them].

Isaiah 31:6

Return to Him from whom you have so deeply defected, O sons of Israel.

Isaiah 40:31

But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]
Will gain new strength and renew their power;
They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];
They will run and not become weary,
They will walk and not grow tired.

Isaiah 55:6-7

Seek the Lord while He may be found;
Call on Him [for salvation] while He is near.

Isaiah 58:6

“[Rather] is this not the fast which I choose,
To undo the bonds of wickedness,
To tear to pieces the ropes of the yoke,
To let the oppressed go free
And break apart every [enslaving] yoke?

Jeremiah 3:14-22

‘Return, O faithless children [of the twelve tribes],’ says the Lord,
‘For I am a master and husband to you,
And I will take you [not as a nation, but individually]—one from a city and two from a [tribal] family—
And I will bring you to Zion.’

Jeremiah 22:15

“Do you think that you become a king because you have much more cedar [in your palace than Solomon]?
Did not your father [Josiah], as he ate and drank,
Do just and righteous acts [being upright and in right standing with God]?
Then all was well with him.

Lamentations 3:25-26

The Lord is good to those who wait [confidently] for Him,
To those who seek Him [on the authority of God’s word].

Lamentations 3:39-41

Why should any living mortal, or any man,
Complain [of punishment] in view of his sins?

Hosea 4:1

Hear the word of the Lord, you children of Israel,
For the Lord has a [legal] case with the inhabitants of the land,
Because there is no faithfulness [no steadfast love, no dependability] or loyalty or kindness
Or knowledge of God [from personal experience with Him] in the land.

Hosea 6:1-3

“Come and let us return [in repentance] to the Lord,
For He has torn us, but He will heal us;
He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.

Hosea 10:12

Sow with a view to righteousness [that righteousness, like seed, may germinate];
Reap in accordance with mercy and lovingkindness.
Break up your uncultivated ground,
For it is time to seek and search diligently for the Lord [and to long for His blessing]
Until He comes to rain righteousness and His gift of salvation on you.

Amos 5:24

“But let justice run down like waters
And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream [flowing abundantly].

Micah 7:7

But as for me, I will look expectantly for the Lord and with confidence in Him I will keep watch;
I will wait [with confident expectation] for the God of my salvation.
My God will hear me.

Habakkuk 2:3

“For the vision is yet for the appointed [future] time
It hurries toward the goal [of fulfillment]; it will not fail.
Even though it delays, wait [patiently] for it,
Because it will certainly come; it will not delay.

Zephaniah 3:8

“Therefore [you of the godly remnant of Judah, patiently] wait for Me,” declares the Lord,
“[Wait] for the day when I rise up as a witness [against the nations].
For it is My decision and My right to gather the nations,
To assemble kingdoms,
To pour out on them My indignation,
All [the heat of] My burning anger;
For [in that day] all the earth shall be consumed
By the fire of My zeal.

Zechariah 1:3

Therefore say to the Jews, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts (armies), “Return to Me,” declares the Lord of hosts, “and I shall return to you.

Zechariah 7:9

“Thus has the Lord of hosts said, ‘Dispense true justice and practice kindness and compassion, to each other;

Zechariah 8:16

These are the things which you should do: speak the truth with one another; judge with truth and pronounce the judgment that brings peace in [the courts at] your gates.

Acts 2:38

And Peter said to them, “Repent [change your old way of thinking, turn from your sinful ways, accept and follow Jesus as the Messiah] and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ because of the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 26:20

but I openly proclaimed first to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout the region of Judea, and even to the Gentiles, that they should repent [change their inner self—their old way of thinking] and turn to God, doing deeds and living lives which are consistent with repentance.

James 1:27

Pure and unblemished religion [as it is expressed in outward acts] in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit and look after the fatherless and the widows in their distress, and to keep oneself uncontaminated by the [secular] world.

James 2:13

For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; but [to the one who has shown mercy] mercy triumphs [victoriously] over judgment.