Hosea 13:4-5 KJV

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Hosea 13:1-4

Idolatry was the sin that did most easily beset the Jewish nation till after the captivity; the ten tribes from the first were guilty of it, but especially after the days of Ahab; and this is the sin which, in these verses, they are charged with. Observe, I. The provision that God made to prevent their falling into idolatry. This we have, Hos. 14:4. God did what was fit to be done to keep them close to himself; what could have been done more? 1. He made known himself to them as the Lord their... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Hosea 13:5-8

We may observe here, 1. The plentiful provision God had made for Israel and the seasonable supplies he had blessed them with (Hos. 14:5): ?I did know thee in the wilderness, took cognizance of thy case and made provision for thee, even in a land of great drought, when thou wast in extreme distress, and when no relief was to be had in an ordinary way.? See a description of this wilderness, Deut. 8:15; Jer. 2:6; and say, The God that knew them, and owned them, and fed them there, was a friend... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hosea 13:4

Yet I am the Lord thy God from the land of Egypt ,.... Which brought thee out from thence, as the Targum; and ever since, from that time to this, had shown a regard unto them, as the Lord their God, both in the wilderness, as later mentioned, and in the land of Canaan, where they had been continued, and followed with instances of goodness to that day, and yet find sinned in so gross a manner; which argued great ingratitude in them, and forgetfulness of the Lord, and his mercies: and... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Hosea 13:5

I did know thee in the wilderness ,.... Where there were no food nor drink, where were scorpions, serpents, and beasts of prey; there the Lord knew them, owned them, and showed a fatherly affection for them, and care of them; and fed them with manna and quails, and guided and directed them in the way, and protected and preserved them from their enemies, and from all hurt and danger. So the Targum explains it, "I sufficiently supplied their necessities in the wilderness:' in the land of... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Hosea 13:4

I am the Lord thy God - This was the first discovery I made of myself to you, and the first commandment I gave; and I showed you that besides me there was no Savior. There is a remarkable addition in the Septuagint here: "But I am Jehovah thy God, who stretched out the heavens and created the earth. And I showed them not to thee, that thou shouldest walk after them. And I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt," etc. This might have been once in the Hebrew text. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Hosea 13:5

I did know thee - I approved of thee; I loved thee; and by miraculously providing for thee in that land of drought, I demonstrated my love. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Hosea 13:4

Verse 4 The Prophet now repeats the sentence which we have noticed in the last chapter for the sake of amplifying the sin of the people. For had they never known sound doctrine, had they never been brought up in the law, there would have been some colour for alleviating their fault; because they might have excused themselves by saying, that as they had never known true religion, they had gone astray according to the common practice of men; but as they had from infancy been taught sound... read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Hosea 13:5

Verse 5 He afterwards adds Thee I knew in the desert, in the land of droughts God here confirms the truth that the Israelites had acted very absurdly in having turned their minds to other gods, for he himself had known them. The knowledge here mentioned is twofold, that of men, and that of God. God declares that he had a care for the people when they were in the desert; and he designates his paternal solicitude by the term, knowledge: I knew thee; that is, “I then chose thee a people for... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Hosea 13:1-4

Baal-exaltation. The first clause is better read, "When Ephraim spake, there was trembling; he was exalted in Israel." The contrast is between what Ephraim once was, and what his offending in Baal had now brought him to. Once he was great in Israel. He had authority, influence, power to inspire terror. Now he was but the wreck of his former self. He would be swept away like chaff before the whirlwind. I. THE FIRST FALSE STEP . ( Hosea 13:1 ) It is the first false step in sin... read more