Hosea 13:4

4 Yet I have been the 1LORD your God Since the land of Egypt; And you were not to know 2any god except Me, For there is no savior 3besides Me.

Hosea 13:4 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 13:4

Yet I [am] the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt
Which brought thee out from thence, as the Targum; and ever since, from that time to this, had shown a regard unto them, as the Lord their God, both in the wilderness, as later mentioned, and in the land of Canaan, where they had been continued, and followed with instances of goodness to that day, and yet find sinned in so gross a manner; which argued great ingratitude in them, and forgetfulness of the Lord, and his mercies: and thou shalt know no God but me;
they ought to have known, acknowledged, and worshipped no other god, as was enjoined them in the law: or, "thou knowest not" F2; they did not know any other, which they in their own consciences were obliged to confess, if appealed to; however, they should know no other; by sad experience they would find that there was no other that could be of any service to them; their images and idols being unable to help them: for [there is] no saviour besides me;
that could save them out of their troubles, and deliver them out of their distresses; no other that is, or can be, the author, either of temporal or of spiritual and eternal salvation.


FOOTNOTES:

F2 (edt al) "non novisti, [vel] cognovisti", Liveleus, Drusius, Rivet.

Hosea 13:4 In-Context

2 And now they sin more and more, And make for themselves molten images, Idols skillfully made from their silver, All of them the work of craftsmen. They say of them, "Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves!"
3 Therefore they will be like the morning cloud And like dew which soon disappears, Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor And like smoke from a chimney.
4 Yet I have been the LORD your God Since the land of Egypt; And you were not to know any god except Me, For there is no savior besides Me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness, In the land of drought.
6 As they had their pasture, they became satisfied, And being satisfied, their heart became proud; Therefore they forgot Me.

Cross References 3

  • 1. Hosea 12:9
  • 2. Exodus 20:3; 2 Kings 18:35
  • 3. Isaiah 43:11; Isaiah 45:21, 22
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