Hosea 1:7
in Hosea 1Yet I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will save them—not by bow or sword or war, not by horses and cavalry, but by the LORD their God.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by Jehovah their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
KJV
But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen.
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This verse in Hosea 1
Commentary
11 notes on this verseFor He says to Hosea the prophet, "I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel, but will altogether be their enemy. But I will have mercy upon the children of Judah, and will save them in the Lord their God." Here God the Father gives the name of God, without any ambiguity, to the Son, in Whom also He chose us before countless ages. "Their God," He says, for while the Father, being Unoriginate, is independent of all, He has given us for an inheritance to His Son.
This site's exposition
Call her name Lo–ruhamah
on Hosea 1:6-7
The daughter's name, not pitied, revokes the mercy that had shielded Israel even in her sin, the Lord stating the reversal outright, I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel. Judah is set apart and spared in the same breath, saved not by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses, nor by horsemen, which the commentators tie forward to Sennacherib's siege lifted in a single night by the angel of the Lord rather than by Judah's own arms in 2 Kings 19. The two houses stand side by side under one prophecy, mercy withdrawn from one and reserved without cause for the other.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
"And she conceived again, and bore a daughter. And he said to her: Call her name without mercy, for I will not add any more to show mercy to the house of Israel, but I will utterly forget them. And I will have mercy on the house of Juda, and I will save them in the Lord their God: and I will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battles, nor by horses, nor by horsemen." LXX: "And she conceived again, and bore a daughter.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
): But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah. Note, Though some are justly cast off for their disobedience, yet God will always secure to himself a remnant that shall be the vessels and monuments of mercy. When divine justice is glorified in some, yet there are others in whom free grace is glorified.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
But I will have mercy on the house of Judah,....
This may refer also to the salvation of Judah from idolatry, which qualified and prepared them for their other salvations. And this is indeed a salvation by the Lord their God; it is wrought only by the power of his grace, and can never be wrought by sword or bow.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
I will have mercy on the house of Judah - For to them the promises were made in David, and of them, according to the flesh, Christ was to come. Israel, moreover, as being founded in rebellion and apostasy, had gone on from bad to worse. All their kings clave to the sin of Jeroboam; not one did right in the sight of God; not one repented or hearkened to God.
4 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century4 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Judah is only incidentally mentioned to form a contrast to Israel. by the Lord their God--more emphatic than "by Myself"; by that Jehovah (Me) whom they worship as their God, whereas ye despise Him. not . . . by bow--on which ye Israelites rely (Ho 1:5, "the bow of Israel"); Jeroboam II was famous as a warrior (2Ki 14:25).
GOD is very considerate towards the messengers by whom He delivers His Word to men. They are bound to deliver His Word faithfully, whatever the tidings may be. Sometimes the burden of the Lord is very heavy. The Prophets have to denounce woe upon woe, with terrible monotony of threat. And then it is that God hastens to relieve them by giving them a gracious Word, so that they may refresh their hearts and not be altogether crushed beneath their load. We have an instance here of the Lord's care for His heralds. Hosea was bound to say, in the name of the Lord, "I will no more have mercy upon the house of Israel. But I will utterly take them away." But when he had said that, with heavy heart and tearful eye, he was allowed to add, "But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah." The Lord will not let our spirit fail beneath a burden which is all of grief. But He will grant us the high privilege of proclaiming Divine Grace, as well as publishing judgment. Dear Brethren in Christ, if you have to preach God's Word, preach it faithfully and abate no syllable of its stern threats. Woe unto him who is afraid to preach the terrors of the Lord! Woe unto the man who refuses to put his hand into the bitter box and take out the wormwood and gall which make such salutary medicine for the souls of men! We must at times speak lightning and prove ourselves sons of thunder. We must bring on the storm and tempest in the heart of man if fair summer-tide discoursing will not touch them. For the most of men there is no going to Heaven except by the Weeping Cross. And we must drive them that way with God's thundering sentences of judgment. Let us lead them by the path of sorrow to the Man of Sorrows, sorrowing ourselves because it is so hard to bring them to a godly sorrow. It is at our soul's peril that we allow a warning to lie silent. "If the watchman warn them not, they shall perish.
GOD is very considerate towards the messengers by whom He delivers His Word to men. They are bound to deliver His Word faithfully, whatever the tidings may be. Sometimes the burden of the Lord is very heavy. The Prophets have to denounce woe upon woe, with terrible monotony of threat. And then it is that God hastens to relieve them by giving them a gracious Word, so that they may refresh their hearts and not be altogether crushed beneath their load. We have an instance here of the Lord's care for His heralds.
But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah - I will spare them as a kingdom after Israel has been carried away into captivity by the Assyrians. And will save them by the Lord their God - Remarkably fulfilled in the supernatural defeat of the army of the Assyrians, see 2Ki 19:35; and so they were saved not by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, nor by horses, nor by horsemen. The former expression may mean, not in war by horses, i.e., yoked to war chariots, nor by horsemen - nor by cavalry, however efficient such troops might have then been deemed.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בֵּ֤ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוּדָה֙ | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| אֲרַחֵ֔ם | ʾarachem | I will have compassion on | H7355 → | 47 times |
| וְהֽוֹשַׁעְתִּ֖ים | vehosha'tim | and I will save them | H3467 → | 206 times |
| בַּיהוָ֣ה | bayahweh | by Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹֽהֵיהֶ֑ם | ʾeloheihem | God their | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֽוֹשִׁיעֵ֗ם | ʾoshiem | I will save them | H3467 → | 206 times |
| בְּקֶ֤שֶׁת | bekeshet | by bow | H7198 → | 76 times |
| וּבְחֶ֙רֶב֙ | uvecherev | and by sword | H2719 → | 413 times |
| וּבְמִלְחָמָ֔ה | uvemilchamah | and by battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
| בְּסוּסִ֖ים | besusim | by horses | H5483 → | |
| וּבְפָרָשִֽׁים׃ | uvefarashim | and by horsemen | H6571 → |
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בֵּ֤ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יְהוּדָה֙Judah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
אֲרַחֵ֔םI will have compassion on
ʾarachemH7355 →47 times
וְהֽוֹשַׁעְתִּ֖יםand I will save them
vehosha'timH3467 →206 times
בַּיהוָ֣הby Yahweh
bayahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹֽהֵיהֶ֑םGod their
ʾeloheihemH430 →2601 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
אֽוֹשִׁיעֵ֗םI will save them
ʾoshiemH3467 →206 times
בְּקֶ֤שֶׁתby bow
bekeshetH7198 →76 times
וּבְחֶ֙רֶב֙and by sword
uvecherevH2719 →413 times
וּבְמִלְחָמָ֔הand by battle
uvemilchamahH4421 →320 times
בְּסוּסִ֖יםby horses
besusimH5483 →
וּבְפָרָשִֽׁים׃and by horsemen
uvefarashimH6571 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Zechariah 4:6So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD of Hosts.
it leads to
- 2 Chronicles 32:7–8
“Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged before the king of Assyria and the vast army with him, for there is a greater One with us than with him.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4–5
The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
- 1 Corinthians 2:4–5
My message and my preaching were not with persuasive words of wisdom, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,
- Psalms 33:16
No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength.
- Isaiah 11:2–4
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
- 2 Chronicles 32:7–8
Through
Isaiah 7:14Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
it leads to
- Matthew 1:23
“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us”).
- Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of…
- Matthew 1:23
Through
Isaiah 12:2Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and He also has become my salvation.”
it leads to
- Exodus 15:2
The LORD is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise Him, my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.
- Exodus 15:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this chapter
About Hosea
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 2057: “The Lord's Own Salvation” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); Hilary of Poitiers, ON THE TRINITY 4:37; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 1:6-7; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.