But it is too late. The people of Israel have rejected what is good, and now their enemies will chase after them.
Parallel translations
- WEB Israel has cast off that which is good. The enemy will pursue him.
- KJV Israel hath cast off the thing that is good: the enemy shall pursue him.
- BSB But Israel has rejected good; an enemy will pursue him.
- NKJV Israel has rejected the good; The enemy will pursue him.
- NASB Israel has rejected the good; The enemy will pursue him.
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 has rejected what is good, so the enemy will pursue him.
Overview
Having spurned the good, which is God Himself and His ways, Israel is left to the consequence of being chased down by an enemy. The rejection of good is the root cause of the coming pursuit and judgment. This sober principle, that forsaking God forfeits His protection, drives home the value of clinging to the good that is fully revealed in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Lam 3:66You will pursue them in anger, and destroy them from under the heavens of Yahweh.
- Ps 81:10–11I am Yahweh, your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
- Amos 1:11Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Edom, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity, and his anger raged continually, and he kept his wrath forever;
- 1 Tim 5:12having condemnation, because they have rejected their first pledge.
- Lev 26:36“‘As for those of you who are left, I will send a faintness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. The sound of a driven leaf will put them to flight; and they shall flee, as one flees from the sword. They will fall when no one pursues.
- Deut 28:25Yahweh will cause you to be struck before your enemies. You will go out one way against them, and will flee seven ways before them. You will be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth.
- Ps 36:3The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit. He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
- Lam 4:19Our pursuers were swifter than the eagles of the sky: They chased us on the mountains, they laid wait for us in the wilderness.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 8:3 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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