8:2
Israel cries out to Me, “O our God, we know You!”: This clause indicates that the people of Israel continued to call out to God. They continued to claim that they had a close relationship with him. However, this claim was not consistent with their rejection of God that is described in the verses before and after this one.
Some versions make explicit the contrast between what the people said and what they did. For example:
2 Even though they call me their God and claim that they are my people and that they know me, 3 they have rejected what is good. (Good News Translation)
-or-
2 They cry out to me, ‘Our God, we in Israel know you!’ 3 But Israel has rejected what is good (New Century Version)
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2 Predictably, Israel cries out, ‘My God! We know you!’ But they don’t act like it. 3 Israel will have nothing to do with what’s good (MSG)
If the contrast is not clear in your language, you may want to make it explicit as in one of the above versions. Be sure to consider the connection with 8:3, which also contrasts with 8:2.
Israel cries out to Me: In Hebrew, this phrase is more literally “They cry out to Me” (New American Standard Bible). It is clear from the preceding and following verses that the words “they” and Israel both refer to the people of Israel.
The verb cries out means “cry out or call for help in time of distress.” Some versions make explicit that the people are asking for help. For example:
Now Israel pleads with me, ‘Help us…
O our God: In Hebrew, this phrase is literally “My God.” The Berean Standard Bible adds the vocative O to introduce this phrase.
The singular “my” in Hebrew may indicate that each person says these words. Versions such as the Berean Standard Bible above may have used our because it sounds more natural in English to say our God when a group of people cries out.
Here are some ways to translate this phrase:
My God (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
Our God (New Century Version)
-or-
You(sing) who are our(excl.) God
Use a phrase that is natural in your language when a group of people calls out to God.
God: In Hebrew, this word is ʾelohim, not Yahweh. Versions indicate this by translating the word as God rather than “LORD.”
we know You!: In this context, this probably means that the people claimed to know God in a personal way. They were his people. It implies that they knew how he wanted them to live and that they obeyed him. It does not imply that they only recognized him or understood who he was. See the note on “you will know the LORD” in 2:20b, where it probably has the same meaning.
Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:
we—Israel—know you. (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
you are our God! (New Living Translation (2004))
-or-
we(excl.) consider you to be our God whom we know and obey
General Comment on 8:2
In some languages, it may be more natural to translate this verse using indirect speech. For example:
…they call me their God and claim that they are my people and that they know me (Good News Translation)
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