Hosea 10:3

Hosea 10:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the Lord; what then should a king do to us?
• New International Version (NIV)Then they will say, “We have no king because we did not revere the Lord. But even if we had a king, what could he do for us?”
• English Standard Version (ESV)For now they will say: "We have no king, for we do not fear the Lord; and a king—what could he do for us?"
• New King James Version (NKJV)For now they say, “We have no king, Because we did not fear the Lord. And as for a king, what would he do for us?”

Context of Hosea 10:3

1Israel was like a healthy vine that had lots of grapes. But as the Israelites became more and more rich, they built more and more altars. As their land gave more crops, they made the pillars that they worshipped more beautiful. 2They do not truly trust God. They are guilty and they must receive their punishment. The Lord will break their altars. He will destroy their special pillars. Soon these people will say, ‘We did not respect the Lord's authority. Because of that we have no king. But even if we had a king now, he could not do anything to help us.’ 4They promise to do many things, but they never do what they promise. They make useless agreements. So people accuse each other in the courts. They are like weeds that grow in a farmer's field. 5The people who live in Samaria will be afraid. They will worry about their image of a calf at Beth Aven. They will weep because it will go away from them. The priests who serve the idol will cry too. They know that an enemy will take away their great and beautiful idol.

Hosea 10:3 word by word

כִּ֤י עַתָּה֙ יֹֽאמְר֔וּ אֵ֥ין מֶ֖לֶךְ לָ֑נוּ כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יָרֵ֙אנוּ֙ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֔ה וְהַמֶּ֖לֶךְ מַה־יַּֽעֲשֶׂה־לָּֽנוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For now they shall sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• We have no kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
• because we fearedיָרֵאyârê' · to fear: revereH3372
• not the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• doעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213

Cross-references for Hosea 10:3

• Hosea 10:7The people of Samaria and their king will come to an end. They will be like a small stick that water carries away.
• Hosea 3:4In the same way, the Israelites will have to live for many days without a king or any other leader. They will not be able to make sacrifices. They will not have their pillars, their ephods or their idols to help them.
• Hosea 11:5But they refuse to turn back to me. So they must return to Egypt. Assyria will rule over them.
• Hosea 13:11I was angry, but I agreed to give you a king. Now I am even more angry and I will take your king away!
• Genesis 49:10Judah's descendants will always rule as king. They will continue to hold the stick and the sceptre that show the king's authority. They will do that until the man comes who truly has that authority. People from all nations will obey that king.
• Micah 4:9You people in Jerusalem, you are crying aloud like people who have no king. You cry like people who have no wise leader. You have bad pains like a woman who is giving birth to a baby.
• John 19:15But they shouted, ‘Take him away! Take him away! Kill him on a cross!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Do you want me to kill your king on a cross?’ The leaders of the priests answered, ‘Caesar is the only ruler that we call king.’

Commentaries on Hosea 10:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3We have no king - We have rejected the King of kings; and had we any king, he would be of no service to us in this state, as he would be a captive like ourselves; nor could we have the approbation of God, as we now justly lie under his displeasure.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3For now they shall say, we have no king - These are the words of despair, not of repentance; of people terrified by the consciousness of guilt, but not coming forth out of its darkness; describing their condition, not confessing the iniquity which brought it on them. In sin, all Israel had asked for a king, when the Lord was their king; in sin, Ephraim had made Jeroboam king; in sin, their subsequent kings were made, without the counsel and advice of God…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3We have no king: Some interpreters understand these words as an admission, after Israel’s destruction, that they had been punished and that their line of kings had come to an end because they did not fear the Lord. Others see this statement as the Israelites’ arrogant rejection of the Lord’s kingship.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. now, &c.--Soon they, deprived of their king, shall be reduced to say, We have no king (Ho 10:7, 15), for Jehovah deprived us of him, because of our not fearing God. What then (seeing God is against us) should a king be able to do for us, if we had one? As they rejected the heavenly King, they were deprived of their earthly king.Read the comment

Topics related to Hosea 10:3

• Doubting
• Hoshea

In the dictionaries

• Ashamed
• Plow
• Reap
• Altar
• Hosea
• Zechariah, Book of

Commentaries on Hosea 10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings