Hosea 10 · Verse 3

Hosea 10:3

For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the Lord; what then should a king do to us?
Hosea 10:3, King James Version

Hosea 10:3 in other translations

BSBSurely now they will say, “We have no king, for we do not revere the LORD. What can a king do for us?”
WEBSurely now they will say, “We have no king; for we don’t fear the LORD; and the king, what can he do for us?”
ASVSurely now shall they say, We have no king; for we fear not Jehovah; and the king, what can he do for us?
YLTFor now they say: We have no king, Because we have not feared Jehovah, And the king--what doth he for us?
DARBYFor now they will say, We have no king, for we feared not Jehovah; and a king, what can he do for us?
BBENow, truly, they will say, We have no king, we have no fear of the Lord; and the king, what is he able to do for us?
WebsterFor now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us?

What does Hosea 10:3 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
3. 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.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 3 We 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.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Hosea 10:1-8

The idolatry of Israel. (Hos. 10:1-8) They are exhorted to repentance. (Hos. 10:9-15) Verses 1-8 A vine is only valuable for its fruit; but Israel now brought no fruit to perfection. Their hearts were divided. God is the Sovereign of the heart; he will have all, or none. Were the stream of the heart wholly after God, it would run strongly, and bear down all before it. Their pretences to covenant with God were false…

Read the full comment on Hosea 10:1-8 →

Hosea 10:3 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כִּ֤יkiforH3588
עַתָּה֙'a.TahnowH6258
יֹֽאמְר֔וּyo.me.Ruthey will sayH559
אֵ֥ין'einnotH369
מֶ֖לֶךְMe.lekha kingH4428
לָ֑נוּLa.nu[belongs] to us
כִּ֣יkiforH3588
לֹ֤אlo'notH3808
יָרֵ֙אנוּ֙ya.Re.nuwe fearH3372
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
יְהֹוָ֔הYah.wehYahwehH3068
וְהַמֶּ֖לֶךְve.ha.Me.lekhand the kingH4428
מַה\־mah-what?H4100
יַּֽעֲשֶׂה\־ya.'a.seh-will he doH6213
לָּֽנוּ\׃La.nufor us

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Hosea 10:3

  • Hosea 10:15

    So shall Beth–el do unto you because of your great wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.

  • Hosea 10:7

    As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water.

  • Hosea 13:11

    I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.

  • Genesis 49:10

    The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

  • Hosea 3:4

    For the children of Israel shall abide many days without a king, and without a prince, and without a sacrifice, and without an image, and without an ephod, and without teraphim:

  • John 19:15

    But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Cesar.

  • Micah 4:9

    Now why dost thou cry out aloud? is there no king in thee? is thy counsellor perished? for pangs have taken thee as a woman in travail.

  • Hosea 11:5

    He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
We have.
7,15; 3:4; 11:5; 13:11; Ge 49:10; Mic 4:9; Joh 19:15

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Hosea 10:2

    Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.

  • Hosea 10:3

    For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the Lord; what then should a king do to us?

  • Hosea 10:4

    They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.

Read all of Hosea 10

Hosea 10:3 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Porque dirán ahora: No tenemos rey, porque no temimos á Jehová: ¿y qué haría el rey por nosotros?
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		car maintenant ils diront: Nous n’avons pas de roi, car nous n’avons pas craint l’ Éternel; et un roi, que ferait-il pour nous?
German
Elberfelder 1871		Ja, nun werden sie sagen: Wir haben keinen König; denn wir haben Jehova nicht gefürchtet, und der König, was wird er für uns tun?
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quia nunc dicent: Non est rex nobis, non enim timemus Dominum; et rex quid faciet nobis?