Hosea 9:5 Meaning and Explanation
“What will ye do in the solemn day, and in the day of the feast of the LORD?”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Hosea asks what the people will do when the sacred feast days arrive and they are scattered, unable to keep them.
What Does Hosea 9:5 Mean?
The prophet presses a single searching question. The solemn day and the feast of the LORD were the high points of Israel's year, when the whole people gathered to rejoice before God. But in exile those days will come and find them with no temple, no gathering, no way to keep the appointed feast. What then will they do?
The question is meant to wake the conscience while there is still time. Loss is felt most sharply on the very days that once were full of joy, when an empty calendar exposes the cost of straying. It is a mercy when God lets us feel the absence of what we have taken for granted, for that ache can turn the heart back toward home. Better to seek him now than to long for him on the day the feast cannot be kept.
Hosea 9:5 in the Original Language
mo'ed (מוֹעֵד), 'solemn day' -- an appointed time, a set meeting between God and his people.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hosea 9:5
What does Hosea 9:5 mean?
Hosea asks what the people will do when the sacred feast days arrive and they are scattered, unable to keep them.