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the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies, the Lord is his name!
Hosea 12:5 · New Living Translation
Parallel translations
  • WEB even Yahweh, the God of Armies; Yahweh is his name of renown!
  • KJV Even the LORD God of hosts; the LORD is his memorial.
  • BSB the LORD is the God of Hosts—the LORD is His name of renown.
  • NKJV That is, the Lord God of hosts. The Lord is His memorable name.
  • NASB And the Lord, the God of armies, The Lord is His name.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The God who met Jacob is Yahweh, the LORD of Armies, whose name is to be remembered. It exalts the covenant God who alone is worthy of worship.

Overview

By naming God as "Yahweh, the God of Armies," the prophet underscores his covenant faithfulness and sovereign power. The phrase "his name of renown" calls Israel to remember and revere him rather than idols. This identification grounds the summons to return in the character of the unchanging, almighty Lord.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 5

  • Exod 3:15God said moreover to Moses, “You shall tell the children of Israel this, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and this is my memorial to all generations.
  • Ps 135:13Your name, Yahweh, endures forever; your renown, Yahweh, throughout all generations.
  • Isa 42:8“I am Yahweh. That is my name. I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to engraved images.
  • Gen 32:30Jacob called the name of the place Peniel: for, he said, “I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved.”
  • Gen 28:16Jacob awakened out of his sleep, and he said, “Surely Yahweh is in this place, and I didn’t know it.”

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Hosea videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Hosea 12:5YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on HoseaMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

God's relentless love for an unfaithful bride dramatizes the gospel: 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled in Jesus, who redeems an adulterous people at his own cost.

How Hosea 12:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.