Israel shall cry unto me, My God, we know thee.
Parallel translations
- WEB They cry to me, ‘My God, we Israel acknowledge you!’
- BSB Israel cries out to Me, “O our God, we know You!”
- 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 every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
- Titus 1:16They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.
- Mic 3:11The heads thereof judge for reward, and the priests thereof teach for hire, and the prophets thereof divine for money: yet will they lean upon the LORD, and say, Is not the LORD among us? none evil can come upon us.
- Hos 7:13–14Woe unto them! for they have fled from me: destruction unto them! because they have transgressed against me: though I have redeemed them, yet they have spoken lies against me.
- Jer 7:4Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are these.
- Ps 78:34–37When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God.
- Luke 13:25When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
- Isa 48:1–2Hear ye this, O house of Jacob, which are called by the name of Israel, and are come forth out of the waters of Judah, which swear by the name of the LORD, and make mention of the God of Israel, but not in truth, nor in righteousness.
- 2 Kgs 10:29Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan.
- Matt 25:11Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us.
- 2 Kgs 10:16And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot.
- 1 Jn 2:4He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
- Hos 5:15I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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.