Charles Ellicott Commentary 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 dew that goeth early away." — Hosea 6:4 (ASV)

Here ends the supposed language of the penitents.

If it were genuine, and accompanied by a deep sense of sin, it would not be in vain. But the prophet utters the heartrending response and expostulation of Jehovah, who bewails the transitory nature of their repentance.

Your goodness... —Better rendered, Your love (to me) is like the morning cloud (which promises rain, and does not give it); like the dew (or, “morning mist; ” see Hosea 14:5), which early goes away, vanishing in the blaze of the summer day—your tears leaving you parched and dried as before.