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 a fertile vine that yielded fruit. As his fruit multiplied, he multiplied altars to Baal. As his land prospered, they adorned the fertility pillars. 2Their heart is slipping; soon they will be punished for their guilt. The Lord will break their altars; he will completely destroy their fertility pillars. Very soon they will say, “We have no king since we did not fear the Lord. But what can a king do for us anyway?” 4They utter empty words, taking false oaths and making empty agreements. Therefore legal disputes sprout up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a plowed field. 5The inhabitants of Samaria will lament over the calf idol of Beth Aven. Its people will mourn over it; its idolatrous priests will wail over it, because its splendor will be taken from them into exile.

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 10:7Samaria and its king will be carried off like a twig on the surface of the waters.
• Hosea 3:4For the Israelites must live many days without a king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred fertility pillar, without ephod or idols.
• Hosea 11:5They will return to Egypt! Assyria will rule over them because they refuse to repent!
• Hosea 13:11I granted you a king in my anger, and I will take him away in my wrath!
• Genesis 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs; the nations will obey him.
• Micah 4:9Jerusalem, why are you now shouting so loudly? Has your king disappeared? Has your wise leader been destroyed? Is this why pain grips you as if you were a woman in labor?
• John 19:15Then they shouted out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate asked, “Shall I crucify your king?” The high priests replied, “We have no king except Caesar!”

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