Though I wrote for them the great things of My law, they regarded them as something strange.
Parallel translations
- WEB I wrote for him the many things of my law; but they were regarded as a strange thing.
- KJV I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.
- NKJV I have written for him the great things of My law, But they were considered a strange thing.
- NASB Though I wrote for him ten thousand precepts of My Law, They are regarded as a strange thing.
- NLT Even though I gave them all my laws, they act as if those laws don’t apply to them.
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
Though God wrote His abundant law for them, they treated it as something foreign and strange.
Overview
God gave Israel the rich instruction of His law, yet they regarded it as alien and irrelevant. Their estrangement from the very word meant to guide them reveals the depth of their apostasy. This neglect of Scripture stands as a warning, for God's word is to be treasured and obeyed, and is ultimately fulfilled and honored in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 14
- Deut 4:6–8Observe them carefully, for this will show your wisdom and understanding in the sight of the peoples, who will hear of all these statutes and say, “Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”
- Rom 7:12So then, the law is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good.
- Ezek 20:11And I gave them My statutes and made known to them My ordinances—for the man who does these things will live by them.
- Prov 22:20Have I not written for you thirty sayings about counsel and knowledge,
- Rom 3:1What, then, is the advantage of being a Jew? Or what is the value of circumcision?
- Isa 30:9These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to obey the LORD’s instruction.
- Jer 6:16–17This is what the LORD says: “Stand at the crossroads and look. Ask for the ancient paths: ‘Where is the good way?’ Then walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it!’
- Ps 50:17For you hate My instruction and cast My words behind you.
- Ps 119:18Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your law.
- Ps 147:19–20He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and judgments to Israel.
- Neh 9:13–14You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven. You gave them just ordinances, true laws, and good statutes and commandments.
- 2 Kgs 17:15–16They rejected His statutes and the covenant He had made with their fathers, as well as the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and themselves became worthless, going after the surrounding nations that the LORD had commanded them not to imitate.
- Hos 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.
- Neh 9:26But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.
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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 8:12 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
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