Hosea 1:7 Yet 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."

◄ Hosea 1:7 ►

New International Version
Yet I will show love to Judah; and I will save them—not by bow, sword or battle, or by horses and horsemen, but I, the LORD their God, will save them.”

New Living Translation
But I will show love to the people of Judah. I will free them from their enemies—not with weapons and armies or horses and charioteers, but by my power as the LORD their God.”

English Standard Version
But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”

Berean Standard Bible
Yet 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.”

King James Bible
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.

New King James Version
Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, Will save them by the LORD their God, And will not save them by bow, Nor by sword or battle, By horses or horsemen.”

New American Standard Bible
But I will take pity on the house of Judah and save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”

NASB 1995
“But I will have compassion on the house of Judah and deliver them by the LORD their God, and will not deliver them by bow, sword, battle, horses or horsemen.”

NASB 1977
“But I will have compassion on the house of Judah and deliver them by the LORD their God, and will not deliver them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”

Legacy Standard Bible
But I will have compassion on the house of Judah and save them by Yahweh their God, and I will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”

Amplified Bible
But I will have mercy on the house of Judah and will rescue them by the LORD their God, and will not rescue them by bow, sword, war, horses, or horsemen.”

Christian Standard Bible
But I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will deliver them by the LORD their God. I will not deliver them by bow, sword, or war, or by horses and cavalry.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
But I will have compassion on the house of Judah, and I will deliver them by the LORD their God. I will not deliver them by bow, sword, or war, or by horses and cavalry.

American Standard Version
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.

Contemporary English Version
But I am the LORD God of Judah, and I will have mercy and save Judah by my own power--not by wars and arrows or swords and cavalry."

English Revised Version
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.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Yet, I will love the descendants of Judah. I will rescue them because I am the LORD their God. I won't use bows, swords, wars, horses, or horsemen to rescue them."

Good News Translation
But to the people of Judah I will show love. I, the LORD their God, will save them, but I will not do it by war--with swords or bows and arrows or with horses and horsemen."

International Standard Version
But I'll have mercy on the house of Judah, and I'll save them by the LORD their God—I will not save them by the bow, by the sword, by battle, by horses, or by cavalry."

Majority Standard Bible
Yet 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.”

NET Bible
But I will have pity on the nation of Judah. I will deliver them by the LORD their God; I will not deliver them by the warrior's bow, by sword, by military victory, by chariot horses, or by chariots."

New Heart English Bible
But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by battle, or by chariots, or by horses, or by horsemen."

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not save them by bow, sword, battle, horses, or horsemen.”

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
and I pity the house of Judah, and have saved them by their God YHWH, and do not save them by bow, and by sword, and by battle, by horses, and by horsemen.”

Young's Literal Translation
and the house of Judah I pity, and have saved them by Jehovah their God, and do not save them by bow, and by sword, and by battle, by horses, and by horsemen.'

Smith's Literal Translation
And I will compassionate the house of Judah, and I saved them by Jehovah their God, and I will not save them by bow and by sword, and by battle, by horses and by horsemen.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
And I will have mercy on the house of Juda, and I will save them by the Lord their God: and Iwill not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, nor by horses, nor by horsemen.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Yet I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the Lord their God. And I will not save them by bow and sword and battle and horses and horsemen.”

New American Bible
Yet for the house of Judah I will feel pity; I will save them by the LORD, their God; but I will not save them by bow or sword, by warfare, by horses or horsemen.

New Revised Standard Version
But I will have pity on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God; I will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by war, or by horses, or by horsemen.”

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
But I will have mercy on the house of Judah, and I will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow nor by sword nor by battle nor by horses nor by horsemen.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
But on the house of Judea I shall show compassion and I shall save them in LORD JEHOVAH their God. I shall not save them with a bow, neither by the sword, neither by war, neither with horses, nor by horsemen’

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
But I will have compassion 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, nor by horses, nor by horsemen.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
But I will have mercy on the house of Juda, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will not save them with bow, nor with sword, nor by war, nor by horses, nor by horsemen.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Hosea's Wife and Children
…6Gomer again conceived and gave birth to a daughter, and the LORD said to Hosea, “Name her Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have compassion on the house of Israel, that I should ever forgive them. 7Yet 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.” 8After she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, Gomer conceived and gave birth to a son.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Isaiah 31:5
Like birds hovering overhead, so the LORD of Hosts will protect Jerusalem. He will shield it and deliver it; He will pass over it and preserve it.”

Zechariah 4:6
So 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.

2 Kings 19:34-35
I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’” / And that very night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!

Isaiah 37:35-36
‘I will defend this city and save it for My own sake and for the sake of My servant David.’” / Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!

Psalm 44:6-7
For I do not trust in my bow, nor does my sword save me. / For You save us from our enemies; You put those who hate us to shame.

Psalm 20:7
Some trust in chariots and others in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

Isaiah 30:15
For the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel, has said: “By repentance and rest you would be saved; your strength would lie in quiet confidence—but you were not willing.”

Isaiah 43:11
I, yes I, am the LORD, and there is no Savior but Me.

Isaiah 63:5
I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled that no one assisted. So My arm brought Me salvation, and My own wrath upheld Me.

Jeremiah 3:23
Surely deception comes from the hills, and commotion from the mountains. Surely the salvation of Israel is in the LORD our God.

Exodus 14:13-14
But Moses told the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the LORD’s salvation, which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. / The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

1 Samuel 17:47
And all those assembled here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”

2 Chronicles 20:15
And he said, “Listen, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Listen, King Jehoshaphat! This is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army, for the battle does not belong to you, but to God.

Psalm 33:16-19
No king is saved by his vast army; no warrior is delivered by his great strength. / A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save. / Surely the eyes of the LORD are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His loving devotion ...

Psalm 46:1-3
For the choirmaster. Of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in times of trouble. / Therefore we will not fear, though the earth is transformed and the mountains are toppled into the depths of the seas, / though their waters roar and foam and the mountains quake in the surge. Selah

Treasury of Scripture

But I will have mercy on 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.

I will.

Hosea 11:12
Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit: but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints.

2 Kings 19:35
And it came to pass that night, that the angel of the LORD went out, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians an hundred fourscore and five thousand: and when they arose early in the morning, behold, they were all dead corpses.

Isaiah 36:1-37:38
Now it came to pass in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah, that Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the defenced cities of Judah, and took them…

will save.

Isaiah 7:14
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

Isaiah 12:2
Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

Isaiah 49:6
And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

by bow.

Psalm 33:16
There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength.

Psalm 44:3-6
For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them…

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Hosea 1

1. Hosea, to show God's judgment for spiritual unfaithfulness, takes Gomer,
4. and has by her Jezreel;
6. Loruhamah;
8. and Lo-Ammi.
10. The restoration of Judah and Israel under one head.

Berean Study Bible

Yet I will have compassion
The Hebrew word for "compassion" here is "רָחַם" (racham), which conveys a deep, tender love and mercy. This word is often used to describe God's covenantal love for His people, a love that is steadfast and enduring despite their unfaithfulness. In the context of Hosea, where Israel is depicted as an unfaithful spouse, this compassion underscores God's unwavering commitment to His covenant promises. It is a reminder that God's love is not based on human merit but on His own gracious character.

on the house of Judah
The "house of Judah" refers to the southern kingdom, which remained after the division of Israel following Solomon's reign. Historically, Judah was often more faithful to God than the northern kingdom of Israel, though it too had periods of rebellion. This distinction highlights God's selective mercy and the importance of faithfulness. Judah's preservation is a testament to God's promise to David that his lineage would endure, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

and will deliver them
The Hebrew root "יָשַׁע" (yasha) means to save or deliver. This deliverance is not just a physical rescue but also a spiritual salvation. In the biblical narrative, God often delivers His people from their enemies, but this deliverance also points to the ultimate salvation through Christ. The promise of deliverance for Judah foreshadows the greater deliverance from sin and death that Jesus provides.

not by bow or sword or war
This phrase emphasizes that Judah's deliverance will not come through conventional military means. The bow and sword are symbols of human strength and warfare. Historically, Israel often relied on military alliances and weapons for security, but God is declaring that true deliverance comes from Him alone. This is a call to trust in divine power rather than human might, echoing the biblical theme that "the battle is the LORD's" (1 Samuel 17:47).

not by horses and cavalry
Horses and cavalry were symbols of military power and speed in ancient times. The reliance on such forces was common among nations, but God is making it clear that His ways are not the ways of the world. This statement is a rebuke of Israel's tendency to trust in military alliances, particularly with Egypt, known for its horses and chariots. It serves as a reminder that God's people are to rely on Him alone for their security and salvation.

but by the LORD their God
The phrase "by the LORD their God" underscores the source of true deliverance. The Hebrew name for God here is "יהוה" (YHWH), the covenant name of God, which signifies His eternal, self-existent nature and His faithfulness to His promises. This deliverance is a divine act, rooted in God's character and His relationship with His people. It is a powerful reminder that God is sovereign and His plans will prevail, regardless of human circumstances. This assurance of divine intervention encourages believers to place their trust in God's providence and faithfulness.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(7) Will save them . . .--We may consider this verse to have been literally fulfilled in the destruction of Sennacherib's army. The prophetic outlook anticipates the fact that when Judah is captive and exiled, her restoration by the divine hand would take the form of mercy and forgiveness. (Comp. Psalms 76, Isaiah 40:1-2.)

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 7. - But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God. Thus the contrast expressed in this verse increases the painful feelings with which the threatened abandonment and consequent destruction of Israel would be regarded. The promised mercy to the house of Judah is emphasized by the peculiar form of the expression. Instead of the pronoun, the proper name of Jehovah is employed; instead of saying, "I will save them by myself," he says in a specially emphatic manner, "I will save them by Jehovah," adding at the same time the important adjunct of "thy God," to remind them of that relationship to himself in virtue of which he interposes thus personally and powerfully on their behalf. An expression somewhat similar in form occurs in Genesis 19:24, "Then the Lord [Jehovah] rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord [Jehovah] out of heaven." And will not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle (literally, war), by horses, nor by horsemen. This enumeration is quite in accordance with the prophet's style, as may be seen at a glance by comparing Hosea 2:5, 11, 22; Hosea 3:4; and Hosea 4:13. The manner of this deliverance is very peculiar and unusual; while prominence is given to the absence of those means of defense or deliverance on which the northern kingdom so much relied. The deliverance would be accomplished without the ordinary weapons of war - bow and sword, in the use of the former of which Israel was so celebrated; also without war, that is, without its appliances and material of whatever kind - skilful commanders, brave soldiers, and numerous troops; likewise without horses and horsemen, a great source of strength in those days (parashim, equivalent to "riders on horses," as distinguished from rokebhim, riders on camels). This deliverance, in fact, was to be entirely independent of all human resources. All this points plainly and positively to the deliverance of Judah from Sennacherib in the days of Hezekiah, when in one night the angel of the Lord smote a hundred and eighty-five thousand of the flower of the Assyrian host, and Jehovah thus by himself delivered Judah. Thus, too, Judah is saved from that power before which Israel had previously and entirely succumbed. (Compare, on this miraculous deliverance, 2 Kings 19. and Isaiah 37.)

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

Yet
וְאֶת־ (wə·’eṯ-)
Conjunctive waw | Direct object marker
Strong's 853: Untranslatable mark of the accusative case

I will have compassion
אֲרַחֵ֔ם (’ă·ra·ḥêm)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - first person common singular
Strong's 7355: To fondle, to love, to compassionate

on the house
בֵּ֤ית (bêṯ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1004: A house

of Judah,
יְהוּדָה֙ (yə·hū·ḏāh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3063: Judah -- 'praised', a son of Jacob, also the southern kingdom, also four Israelites

and I will deliver them,
וְהֽוֹשַׁעְתִּ֖ים (wə·hō·wō·ša‘·tîm)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Conjunctive perfect - first person common singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 3467: To be open, wide, free, to be safe, to free, succor

not
וְלֹ֣א (wə·lō)
Conjunctive waw | Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

by bow
בְּקֶ֤שֶׁת (bə·qe·šeṯ)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 7198: A bow, for, shooting, the iris

or sword
וּבְחֶ֙רֶב֙ (ū·ḇə·ḥe·reḇ)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 2719: Drought, a cutting instrument, as a, knife, sword

or war,
וּבְמִלְחָמָ֔ה (ū·ḇə·mil·ḥā·māh)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 4421: A battle, war

not by horses
בְּסוּסִ֖ים (bə·sū·sîm)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 5483: A swallow, swift (type of bird)

and cavalry,
וּבְפָרָשִֽׁים׃ (ū·ḇə·p̄ā·rā·šîm)
Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 6571: A steed, a driver, cavalry

but by the LORD
בַּיהוָ֣ה (Yah·weh)
Preposition-b | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

their God.”
אֱלֹֽהֵיהֶ֑ם (’ĕ·lō·hê·hem)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

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OT Prophets: Hosea 1:7 But I will have mercy (Ho Hs Hos.)