Hosea 13:4

4 Forsooth I am thy Lord God from the land of Egypt; and thou shalt not know God, except me, and no saviour is, except me. (But I am the Lord thy God since thy days in the land of Egypt; and thou shalt know no other god, except me, and there is no other saviour, except 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.

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FOOTNOTES:

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

Hosea 13:4 In-Context

2 And now they added to do sin, and made to them a molten image of their silver, as the likeness of idols; all is the making of craftsmen. To these they say, A! ye men, offer, and worship calves. (And they added to do more sin, and made for themselves a cast image, and idols made out of silver; yea, all the making of craftsmen. To whom they say, O! ye men, offer to these, and worship the calves.)

3 Therefore they shall be as a morrowtide cloud, and as the dew of morrowtide, that passeth forth, as dust ravished by whirlwind from the cornfloor, and as smoke of a chimney. (And so they shall be like a morning cloud, and like the morning dew, that passeth away, and like the dust that is taken up by the whirlwind from the threshing floor, and like the smoke out of a chimney.)

4 Forsooth I am thy Lord God from the land of Egypt; and thou shalt not know God, except me, and no saviour is, except me. (But I am the Lord thy God since thy days in the land of Egypt; and thou shalt know no other god, except me, and there is no other saviour, except me.)

5 I knew thee in the desert, in the land of wilderness.

6 By their pastures they were filled, and had abundance; they raised [up] their heart, and forgat me (then they raised up their hearts, and forgot me).