O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help.
Parallel translations
- WEB You are destroyed, Israel, because you are against me, against your help.
- BSB You are destroyed, O Israel, because you are against Me—against your helper.
- NKJV “O Israel, you are destroyed, But your help is from Me.
- NASB ¶It is to your own destruction, Israel, That you are against Me, against your help.
- NLT “You are about to be destroyed, O Israel— yes, by me, your only helper.
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
Israel is destroyed because they set themselves against God, their only helper. It pinpoints self-inflicted ruin from rejecting the source of their help.
Overview
The tragedy is that Israel's destruction comes from opposing the very One who could save them. God identifies himself as their "help," so to be against him is to be against their own life. The verse highlights both human responsibility for ruin and the grace still implied in God being their helper.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 20
- Jer 2:17Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?
- Jer 2:19Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
- Deut 33:26There is none like unto the God of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in his excellency on the sky.
- Ps 121:1–2I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.
- Ps 146:5Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God:
- Isa 3:11Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him: for the reward of his hands shall be given him.
- Jer 5:25Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you.
- Deut 33:29Happy art thou, O Israel: who is like unto thee, O people saved by the LORD, the shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency! and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee; and thou shalt tread upon their high places.
- Hos 14:1O Israel, return unto the LORD thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.
- Prov 6:32But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul.
- Eph 1:3–5Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
- Titus 3:3–7For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another.
- Ps 46:1God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
- Isa 3:9The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
- Ps 33:20Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.
- Mal 1:9And now, I pray you, beseech God that he will be gracious unto us: this hath been by your means: will he regard your persons? saith the LORD of hosts.
- Prov 8:36But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
- Hos 13:4Yet 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.
- 2 Kgs 17:7–17For so it was, that the children of Israel had sinned against the LORD their God, which had brought them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods,
- Jer 4:18Thy way and thy doings have procured these things unto thee; this is thy wickedness, because it is bitter, because it reacheth unto thine heart.
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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 13:9 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.