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

1The people of Israel are like vines that used to produce fruit. The more fruit they produced, the more altars they built. The more their land produced, the more stone markers they set up ⌞to honor other gods⌟. 2They are hypocrites. Now they must take their punishment. God will tear down their altars and destroy their stone markers. So they’ll say, “We have no king because we didn’t fear the Lord. Even if we had a king, he couldn’t do anything for us.” 4They say many things. They lie when they take oaths, and they make promises they don’t intend to keep. That’s why lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field. 5Those who live in Samaria fear the calf-shaped idol at Beth Aven. The people will mourn over it. The priests will cry loudly because its glory will be taken away into captivity.

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 king of Samaria will be carried away like a piece of wood on water.
• Hosea 3:4In the same way, the Israelites will wait a long time without kings or officials, without sacrifices or sacred stones, and without ephods or family idols.
• Hosea 11:5“They will not return to Egypt. Instead, Assyria will rule them because they have refused to return to me.
• Hosea 13:11I gave you a king when I was angry, and I took him away when I was furious.
• Genesis 49:10A scepter will never depart from Judah nor a ruler’s staff from between his feet until Shiloh comes and the people obey him.
• Micah 4:9Now why are you crying so loudly? Don’t you have a king? Has your counselor died? Pain grips you like a woman in labor.
• John 19:15Then the Jews shouted, “Kill him! Kill him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked them, “Should I crucify your king?” The chief priests responded, “The emperor is the only king we have!”

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