Charles Ellicott Commentary Hosea 5:6

"They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Jehovah; but they shall not find him: he hath withdrawn himself from them." — Hosea 5:6 (ASV)

The vain effort to repent when it is too late. The spirit with which sacrifices of flocks and herds were offered is of more consequence than the multitude of such offerings (Micah 3:4; Isaiah 1:11; Psalms 40:6). Ghastly and revolting results follow the substitution of ritual of any kind for the weightier matters of the law.