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?
• 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?”
• New Living Translation (NLT)Then they will say, “We have no king because we didn’t fear the Lord. But even if we had a king, what could he do for us anyway?”

Context of Hosea 10:3

1Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones. 2Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt. The Lord will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones. 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?” 4They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements; therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field. 5The people who live in Samaria fear for the calf-idol of Beth Aven. Its people will mourn over it, and so will its idolatrous priests, those who had rejoiced over its splendor, because it is 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’s king will be destroyed, swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
• Hosea 3:4For the Israelites will live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred stones, without ephod or household gods.
• Hosea 11:5“Will they not return to Egypt and will not Assyria rule over them because they refuse to repent?
• Hosea 13:11So in my anger I gave you a king, and in my wrath I took him away.
• Genesis 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he to whom it belongs shall come and the obedience of the nations shall be his.
• Micah 4:9Why do you now cry aloud— have you no king? Has your ruler perished, that pain seizes you like that of a woman in labor?
• John 19:15But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

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