For Israel hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples; and Judah hath multiplied fenced cities: but I will send a fire upon his cities, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
Parallel translations
- WEB For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; and Judah has multiplied fortified cities; but I will send a fire on his cities, and it will devour its fortresses.”
- BSB Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; Judah has multiplied its fortified cities. But I will send fire upon their cities, and it will consume their citadels.
- NKJV “ForIsrael has forgotten his Maker, And has built temples; Judah also has multiplied fortified cities; But I will send fire upon his cities, And it shall devour his palaces.”
- NASB For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; And Judah has multiplied fortified cities, But I will send a fire on its cities, and it will consume its palatial buildings.
- NLT Israel has forgotten its Maker and built great palaces, and Judah has fortified its cities. Therefore, I will send down fire on their cities and will burn up their fortresses.”
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 forgot his Maker and built palaces, and Judah multiplied fortresses, but God will send fire to consume their strongholds.
Overview
Both kingdoms trusted in their own building projects and defenses while forgetting the God who made them. Their misplaced confidence in palaces and fortified cities will be undone by divine judgment, pictured as consuming fire. The verse exposes the folly of self-reliance and calls God's people to remember their Maker and find their security in Him alone.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 25
- Deut 32:18Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
- Jer 17:27But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.
- Isa 17:10Because thou hast forgotten the God of thy salvation, and hast not been mindful of the rock of thy strength, therefore shalt thou plant pleasant plants, and shalt set it with strange slips:
- Hos 13:6According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.
- Amos 2:5But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
- Amos 1:10But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.
- Jer 2:32Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
- Ps 106:21They forgat God their saviour, which had done great things in Egypt;
- Eph 2:10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
- Hos 2:13And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim, wherein she burned incense to them, and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and she went after her lovers, and forgat me, saith the LORD.
- Amos 1:14But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:
- Amos 1:12But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.
- Isa 42:13The LORD shall go forth as a mighty man, he shall stir up jealousy like a man of war: he shall cry, yea, roar; he shall prevail against his enemies.
- 2 Chr 26:10Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had much cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen also, and vine dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry.
- Isa 22:8–11And he discovered the covering of Judah, and thou didst look in that day to the armour of the house of the forest.
- Isa 29:23But when he seeth his children, the work of mine hands, in the midst of him, they shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall fear the God of Israel.
- 1 Kgs 16:31And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served Baal, and worshipped him.
- Amos 1:4But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.
- 1 Kgs 12:31And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi.
- Isa 42:25Therefore he hath poured upon him the fury of his anger, and the strength of battle: and it hath set him on fire round about, yet he knew not; and it burned him, yet he laid it not to heart.
- Isa 43:21This people have I formed for myself; they shall shew forth my praise.
- Jer 3:21A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God.
- Jer 23:27Which think to cause my people to forget my name by their dreams which they tell every man to his neighbour, as their fathers have forgotten my name for Baal.
- 2 Chr 27:4Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers.
- 2 Kgs 18:13Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities of Judah, and took them.
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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 8:14 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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