Hosea 6:4

O Ephraim, what shall I do unto thee? O Judah, what shall I do unto thee? for your goodness is as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away.

Cross-references

Hosea 13:3 Allusion

In Hosea 13:3, the same fleeting cloud and dew image reappears — now expanded to chaff and smoke as judgment for Israel's instability.

Hosea 11:8 Parallel

In Hosea 11:8, the same divine dilemma appears — God cannot bear to give up Israel, showing His compassionate struggle.

Hosea 7:16 Parallel

Hosea 7:16 calls Israel a faulty bow that doesn't return to God—same theme of instability and unreliable loyalty as the morning mist.

Hosea 5:3 Parallel

In Hosea 5:3, God says Ephraim is corrupt and turned to prostitution—directly contextualizing the fleeting love lament here as ongoing unfaithfulness.

Jeremiah 5:7 poses 'How can I pardon you?', echoing the same rhetorical plea over Israel's unfaithfulness.

2 Peter 2:20-22 warns of apostasy after knowing the way—the same fleeting, deceptive goodness Hosea compares to morning dew.

Luke 19:42 Parallel

Luke 19:42 echoes Hosea's lament: Jerusalem fails to recognize the time of visitation, their opportunity fleeting like morning dew.

Matthew 13:21 describes those who receive the word with joy but quickly fall away—exactly the morning cloud and dew of Hosea.

Jeremiah 9:7 shows God deciding to refine His people, asking 'what else can I do?' — echoing Hosea's frustrated question.

Jeremiah 3:10 condemns Judah's feigned, not wholehearted repentance—the same temporary, insincere devotion Hosea laments.

Isaiah 5:4 Parallel

Isaiah 5:4 similarly asks what more God could have done for His vineyard, reinforcing His frustrated question.

Psalm 106:13 shows Israel soon forgetting God's works—the rapid disappearance of devotion Hosea compares to early dew.

Isaiah 5:3 Parallel

Isaiah 5:3 echoes God's appeal for a verdict — calling Jerusalem to judge between Him and His unfaithful vineyard.

Psalm 78:34-37 recounts Israel's feigned repentance—they sought God insincerely, the fleeting devotion Hosea condemns.

Judges 2:19 Parallel

Judges 2:19 describes Israel returning to evil after the judge dies—the transient faithfulness Hosea laments as morning dew.

Deuteronomy 9:12 recounts Israel's quick turn to idolatry at Sinai — matching Hosea's lament that their goodness vanishes like morning dew.

In Colossians 1:23, the call to be 'stable and steadfast' contrasts with Israel's fleeting love like morning dew here.

Luke 8:13 Parallel

In Luke 8:13, Jesus describes hearers who receive the word with joy but fall away in testing—the same fleeting, faithless response as Hosea's dew.

Jeremiah 34:11 shows people reneging on their promise to free slaves—a concrete act of fickleness mirroring Hosea's transient 'morning mist' love.

In 2 Chronicles 34:33, Josiah's reform brings lasting loyalty to God, contrasting sharply with the fleeting love Hosea laments here.

Isaiah 28:4 Parallel

Isaiah 28:4 compares Ephraim's fading glory to an early fig—same fleeting, temporary image as Hosea's morning mist.

Jeremiah 11:10 describes Israel returning to ancestral sins and breaking covenant, illustrating the persistent unfaithfulness Hosea laments as fleeting love.

2 Chronicles 26:5 shows Uzziah's faithfulness as long as he sought God — echoing Hosea's theme of transient loyalty.

Judges 6:37 Contrast

Judges 6:37 uses dew as a sign of God's faithfulness to Gideon — contrasting with Hosea's dew as a symbol of Israel's fading loyalty.

Jeremiah 5:23 Related theme

Jeremiah 5:23 describes the stubborn and rebellious heart that causes the fleeting love lamented in Hosea.

Deuteronomy 32:2 uses dew positively — Moses' teaching like refreshing dew — contrasting with Hosea's fleeting dew of Israel's faithfulness.

Luke 20:13 Allusion

In Luke 20:13, the vineyard owner's lament 'What shall I do?' echoes God's frustration with unfaithful Israel here.

Jeremiah 3:19 reveals God's disappointed expectation that Israel would call Him Father, mirroring the lament over fleeting love.

In 2 Peter 2:17, false teachers are compared to waterless clouds—similar imagery of fleeting, deceptive appearances.

2 Chronicles 11:17 notes Judah's faithfulness for three years under Rehoboam — illustrating the fleeting goodness Hosea laments.

Judges 3:12 Parallel

Judges 3:12 shows Israel's recurrent evil — the same cycle of unfaithfulness that Hosea 6:4 describes as fleeting goodness.

Exodus 8:15 Parallel

Exodus 8:15 shows Pharaoh's temporary relief ending in hardened heart — mirroring Israel's fleeting faithfulness like morning dew.