Hosea 13:5

5 I cared for you in the wilderness, in the land of burning heat.

Hosea 13:5 in Other Translations

King James Version (KJV)
5 I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.
English Standard Version (ESV)
5 It was I who knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought;
New Living Translation (NLT)
5 I took care of you in the wilderness, in that dry and thirsty land.
The Message Bible (MSG)
5 I took care of you during the wilderness hard times, those years when you had nothing.
American Standard Version (ASV)
5 I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought.
GOD'S WORD Translation (GW)
5 I took care of you in the desert, in a dry land.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
5 I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought.
New International Reader's Version (NIRV)
5 I took care of you in the desert. It was a land of burning heat.

Hosea 13:5 Meaning and Commentary

Hosea 13:5

I did know thee in the wilderness
Where there were no food nor drink, where were scorpions, serpents, and beasts of prey; there the Lord knew them, owned them, and showed a fatherly affection for them, and care of them; and fed them with manna and quails, and guided and directed them in the way, and protected and preserved them from their enemies, and from all hurt and danger. So the Targum explains it,

``I sufficiently supplied their necessities in the wilderness:''
in the land of great drought;
or, "of droughts" F3; the word is only used in this place; and is by Aben Ezra interpreted a dry and thirsty land; and so he says it signifies in the Arabic language and the same is observed by the father of Kimchi, and by R. Jonah F4; but is by some rendered "torrid" F5, or "inflamed", as if it had the signification of a Hebrew word which signifies a flame: and the Targum takes it to be akin to another, which signifies to "desire", rendering it,
``in a land in which thou desirest everything;''
that is, wants everything. The first seems best, and is a fit a description of the wilderness, which was a place of drought, wherein was no water, ( Deuteronomy 8:15 ) .
FOOTNOTES:

F3 (tbwalt Urab) "an terra siccitatum", Vatablus, Drusius, Schmidt.
F4 Apud R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed. fol. 35. 1.
F5 "In terra torridonum locorum", Montanus; "torridissima", Junius & Tremellius, Heb. "infammationum", Piscator.

Hosea 13:5 In-Context

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.
7 So I will be like a lion to them, like a leopard I will lurk by the path.

Cross References 1

  • 1. S Deuteronomy 1:19
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