Hosea 13:4

4 “But I have been the LORD your God ever since you came out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me.

Hosea 13:4 in Other Translations

KJV
4 Yet I am the LORD thy God from the land of Egypt, and thou shalt know no god but me: for there is no saviour beside me.
ESV
4 But I am the LORD your God from the land of Egypt; you know no God but me, and besides me there is no savior.
NLT
4 “I have been the LORD your God ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior.
MSG
4 "I'm still your God, the God who saved you out of Egypt. I'm the only real God you've ever known. I'm the one and only God who delivers.
CSB
4 I have been the Lord your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, and no Savior exists besides 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 Now they sin more and more; they make idols for themselves from their silver, cleverly fashioned images, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of these people, “They offer human sacrifices! They kiss calf-idols!”
3 Therefore they will be like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears, like chaff swirling from a threshing floor, like smoke escaping through a window.
4 “But I have been the LORD your God ever since you came out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me.
5 I cared for you in the wilderness, in the land of burning heat.
6 When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.

Cross References 4

  • 1. S Jeremiah 2:6; S Hosea 12:9
  • 2. S Hosea 2:20
  • 3. S Exodus 20:3
  • 4. S Deuteronomy 28:29; Psalms 18:46; Isaiah 43:11; Isaiah 45:21-22
Scripture quoted by permission.  Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.  NIV®.  Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica.  All rights reserved worldwide.