Israel cries out to Me, “O our God, we know You!”
Parallel translations
- WEB They cry to me, ‘My God, we Israel acknowledge you!’
- KJV Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.
- NKJV Israel will cry to Me, ‘My God, we know You!’
- NASB They cry out to Me, “My God, we of Israel know You!”
- NLT Now Israel pleads with me, ‘Help us, for you are our God!’
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 cries out claiming to know God, even while their lives deny Him.
Overview
The people protest their relationship with God, professing acknowledgment of Him with their lips. Yet, as the surrounding verses show, this confession is contradicted by their idolatry and rebellion. The verse exposes empty profession, warning that saying "my God" means nothing without the obedience of faith, a theme Jesus echoes regarding those who say "Lord, Lord" but do not do the Father's will.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Matt 7:21Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
- Titus 1:16They profess to know God, but by their actions they deny Him. They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for any good deed.
- Mic 3:11Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”
- Hos 7:13–14Woe to them, for they have strayed from Me! Destruction to them, for they have rebelled against Me! Though I would redeem them, they speak lies against Me.
- Jer 7:4Do not trust in deceptive words, chanting: ‘This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD.’
- Ps 78:34–37When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.
- Luke 13:25After the master of the house gets up and shuts the door, you will stand outside knocking and saying, ‘Lord, open the door for us.’ But he will reply, ‘I do not know where you are from.’
- Isa 48:1–2“Listen to this, O house of Jacob, you who are called by the name of Israel, who have descended from the line of Judah, who swear by the name of the LORD, who invoke the God of Israel—but not in truth or righteousness—
- 2 Kgs 10:29but he did not turn away from the sins that Jeroboam son of Nebat had caused Israel to commit—the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.
- Matt 25:11Later the other virgins arrived and said, ‘Lord, lord, open the door for us!’
- 2 Kgs 10:16saying, “Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD!” So he had him ride in his chariot.
- 1 Jn 2:4If anyone says, “I know Him,” but does not keep His commandments, he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
- Hos 5:15Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 8:2 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.