Hosea 12:9

12:9 “I am the Lord your God ¹  who brought you ²  out of Egypt;

I will make you live in tents again as in the days of old. ³ 

Exodus 20:2

20:2 “I, ⁴  the Lord, am your God, ⁵  who brought you ⁶  from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery. ⁷ 

Psalms 81:9-10

81:9 There must be ⁸  no other ⁹  god among you.

You must not worship a foreign god.

81:10 I am the Lord, your God,

the one who brought you out of the land of Egypt.

Open your mouth wide and I will fill it!’

Isaiah 43:3

43:3 For I am the Lord your God,

the Holy One of Israel, ¹⁰  your deliverer.

I have handed over Egypt as a ransom price,

Ethiopia and Seba ¹¹  in place of you.

Isaiah 43:10

43:10 You are my witnesses,” says the Lord,

“my servant whom I have chosen,

so that you may consider ¹²  and believe in me,

and understand that I am he.

No god was formed before me,

and none will outlive me. ¹³ 

Isaiah 44:6-8

The Absurdity of Idolatry

44:6 This is what the Lord, Israel’s king, says,

their protector, ¹⁴  the Lord who commands armies:

“I am the first and I am the last,

there is no God but me.

44:7 Who is like me? Let him make his claim! ¹⁵ 

Let him announce it and explain it to me –

since I established an ancient people – ¹⁶ 

let them announce future events! ¹⁷ 

44:8 Don’t panic! Don’t be afraid! ¹⁸ 

Did I not tell you beforehand and decree it?

You are my witnesses! Is there any God but me?

There is no other sheltering rock; ¹⁹  I know of none.

[12:9]  ¹ sn The Lord answers Ephraim’s self-assertion (“I am rich!”) with the self-introduction formula (“I am the Lord your God!”) which introduces judgment oracles and ethical instructions.

[12:9]  ² tn Or “[Ever since you came] out of Egypt”; CEV “just as I have been since the time you were in Egypt.”

[12:9]  ³ tn Heb “as in the days of meeting” (כִּימֵי מוֹעֵד, kime mo’ed). This phrase might refer to “time of the festival” (e.g., Hos 2:13; 9:5; cf. NASB, NRSV, NLT) or the Lord’s first “meeting” with Israel in the desert (cf. NAB, TEV, CEV). In his announcements about Israel’s future, Hosea uses “as in the days of […]” (כִּימֵי) or “as in the day of […]” (כְּיוֹם, kÿyom) to introduce analogies drawn from Israel’s early history (e.g., Hos 2:5, 17; 9:9; 10:9).

[20:2]  ⁴ sn The revelation of Yahweh here begins with the personal pronoun. “I” – a person, a living personality, not an object or a mere thought. This enabled him to address “you” – Israel, and all his people, making the binding stipulations for them to conform to his will (B. Jacob, Exodus, 544).

[20:2]  ⁵ tn Most English translations have “I am Yahweh your God.” But the preceding chapters have again and again demonstrated how he made himself known to them. Now, the emphasis is on “I am your God” – and what that would mean in their lives.

[20:2]  ⁶ tn The suffix on the verb is second masculine singular. It is this person that will be used throughout the commandments for the whole nation. God addresses them all as his people, but he addresses them individually for their obedience. The masculine form is not, thereby, intended to exclude women.

[20:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “the house of slaves” meaning “the land of slavery.”

[81:9]  ⁸ tn The imperfect verbal forms in v. 9 have a modal function, expressing what is obligatory.

[81:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “different”; “illicit.”

[43:3]  ¹⁰ sn See the note on the phrase “the Holy One of Israel” in 1:4.

[43:3]  ¹¹ sn Seba is not the same as Sheba in southern Arabia; cf. Gen 1:10; 1 Chr 1:9.

[43:10]  ¹² tn Or “know” (KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV).

[43:10]  ¹³ tn Heb “and after me, there will not be”; NASB “there will be none after Me.”

[44:6]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “his kinsman redeemer.” See the note at 41:14.

[44:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “let him call” or “let him proclaim” (so NASB, NIV, NRSV); NAB “Let him stand up and speak.”

[44:7]  ¹⁶ tc The Hebrew text reads, “from (the time) I established an ancient people, and the coming things.” Various emendations have been proposed. One of the options assumes the reading מַשְׁמִיעִים מֵעוֹלָם אוֹתִיּוֹת (mashmi’im me’olam ’otiyyot); This literally reads “the ones causing to hear from antiquity coming things,” but more idiomatically would read “as for those who predict from antiquity what will happen” (cf. NAB, NEB, REB). The emendation directs the attention of the reader to those who claim to be able to predict the future, challenging them to actually do what they claim they can do. The MT presents Yahweh as an example to whom these alleged “predictors of the future” can compare themselves. Since the ancient versions are unanimous in their support of the MT, the emendations should be set aside.

[44:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb and those things which are coming let them declare for themselves.”

[44:8]  ¹⁸ tn BDB 923 s.v. רָהָה derives this verb from an otherwise unattested root, while HALOT 403 s.v. יָרָה defines it as “be stupefied” on the basis of an Arabic cognate. The form is likely a corruption of תיראו, the reading attested in the Qumran scroll 1QIsa^a.

[44:8]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “rock” or “rocky cliff,” a title that depicts God as a protective refuge in his role as sovereign king; thus the translation “sheltering rock.”