Hosea 3 · Verse 4

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:
Hosea 3:4, King James Version

Hosea 3:4 in other translations

BSBFor the Israelites must live many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar, and without ephod or idol.
WEBFor the children of Israel shall live many days without king, without prince, without sacrifice, without sacred stone, and without ephod or idols.
ASVFor the children of Israel shall abide many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without pillar, and without ephod or teraphim:
YLTFor many days remain do the sons of Israel without a king, and there is no prince, and there is no sacrifice, and there is no standing pillar, and there is no ephod and teraphim.
DARBYFor the children of Israel shall abide many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without statue, and without ephod and teraphim.
BBEFor the children of Israel will for a long time be without king and without ruler, without offerings and without pillars, and without ephod or images.
WebsterFor 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:

What does Hosea 3:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
4. The long period here foretold was to be one in which Israel should have no civil polity, king, or prince, no sacrifice to Jehovah, and yet no idol, or false god, no ephod, or teraphim. Exactly describing their state for the last nineteen centuries, separate from idols, yet without any legal sacrifice to Jehovah, whom they profess to worship, and without being acknowledged by Him as His Church. So Kimchi, a Jew, explains it. The ephod was worn by the high priest above the tunic and robe. It consisted of two finely wrought pieces which hung down, the one in front over the breast, the other on the back, to the middle of the thigh; joined on the shoulders by golden clasps set in onyx stones with the names of the twelve tribes, and fastened round the waist by a girdle (Ex 28:6-12). The common ephod worn by the lower priests, Levites, and any person performing sacred rites, was of linen (2Sa 6:14; 1Ch 15:27). In the breast were the Urim and Thummim by which God gave responses to the Hebrews. The latter was one of the five things which the second temple lacked, and which the first had. It, as representing the divinely constituted priesthood, is opposed to the idolatrous "teraphim," as "sacrifice" (to Jehovah) is to "an (idolatrous) image." "Abide" answers to "thou shalt abide for me" (Ho 3:3). Abide in solitary isolation, as a separated wife. The teraphim were tutelary household gods, in the shape of human busts, cut off at the waist (as the root of the Hebrew word implies) [Maurer], (Ge 31:19, 30-35). They were supposed to give responses to consulters (2Ki 23:24; Eze 21:21, Margin; Zec 10:2). Saul's daughter, Michal, putting one in a bed, as if it were David, proves the shape to have been that of a man.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 4 Many days without a king - Hitherto this prophecy has been literally fulfilled. Since the destruction of the temple by the Romans they have neither had king nor prince, nor any civil government of their own, but have lived in different nations of the earth as mere exiles. They have neither priests nor sacrifices nor urim nor thummim; no prophet, no oracle, no communication of any kind from God. Without an image ephod - teraphim - The Septuagint read, Ουδε ουσης θυσιας, ουδε οντος θυσιαστηριου, ουδε ἱερατειας, ουδε δηλων: "Without a sacrifice, without an altar, without a priesthood, and without oracles;" that is, the urim and thummim. The Vulgate, Arabic, and Syriac read nearly the same. Instead of מצבה matstsebah, an image, they have evidently read מזבח mizbeach, an altar; the letters of these words being very similar, and easily mistaken for each other. But instead of either, one, if not two, of Kennicott's MSS. has מנחה minchah, an oblation. What is called image may signify any kind of pillar, such as God forbade them to erect Lev 26:1, lest it should be an incitement to idolatry. The ephod was the high priest's garment of ceremony; the teraphim were some kind of amulets, telesms, or idolatrous images; the urim and thummim belonged to the breastplate, which was attached to the ephod. Instead of teraphim some would read seraphim, changing the ת tau into ש sin; these are an order of the celestial hierarchy. In short, all the time that the Israelites were in captivity in Babylon, they seem to have been as wholly without forms of idolatrous worship as they were without the worship of God; and this may be what the prophet designs: they were totally without any kind of public worship, whether true or false. As well without images and teraphim, as they were without sacrifice and ephod, though still idolaters in their hearts. They were in a state of the most miserable darkness, which was to continue many days; and it has continued now nearly eighteen hundred years, and must continue yet longer, till they acknowledge him as their Savior whom they crucified as a blasphemer.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Hosea 3:4-5
Here is the application of the parable to Israel. They must long sit like a widow, stripped of all joys and honours; but shall at length be received again. Those that would seek the Lord so as to find him, must apply to Christ, and become his willing people. Not only are we to fear the Lord and his greatness, but the Lord and his goodness; not only his majesty, but his mercy. Even Jewish writers apply this passage to the promised Messiah; doubtless it foretold their future conversion to Christ, for which they are kept a separate people. Though the first fear of God arise from a view of his holy majesty and righteous vengeance, yet the experience of mercy and grace through Jesus Christ, will lead the heart to reverence so kind and glorious a Friend and Father, and to fear offending him.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Hosea 3:4 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.

כִּ֣י\׀kiforH3588
יָמִ֣יםya.MimdaysH3117
רַבִּ֗יםra.BimmanyH7227
יֵֽשְׁבוּ֙ye.she.Vuthey will dwellH3427
בְּנֵ֣יbe.Nei[the] people ofH1121
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
אֵ֥ין'einthere notH369
מֶ֙לֶךְ֙Me.lekh[will be] a kingH4428
וְאֵ֣יןve.'Einand there notH369
שָׂ֔רSar[will be] a princeH8269
וְאֵ֥יןve.'Einand there notH369
זֶ֖בַחZe.vach[will be] sacrificeH2077
וְאֵ֣יןve.'Einand there notH369
מַצֵּבָ֑הma.tze.Vah[will be] a pillarH4676
וְאֵ֥יןve.'Einand there notH369
אֵפ֖וֹד'e.Fod[will be] an ephodH646
וּתְרָפִֽים\׃u.te.ra.Fimand teraphimH8655

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

Cross references for Hosea 3:4

  • Judges 17:5

    And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, and teraphim, and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest.

  • Genesis 31:19

    And Laban went to shear his sheep: and Rachel had stolen the images that were her father’s.

  • 2 Chronicles 15:2

    And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you.

  • Daniel 9:27

    And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

  • 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.

  • Daniel 12:11

    And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.

  • 1 Samuel 23:9

    And David knew that Saul secretly practised mischief against him; and he said to Abiathar the priest, Bring hither the ephod.

  • Exodus 28:4

    And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest’s office.

  • Judges 8:27

    And Gideon made an ephod thereof, and put it in his city, even in Ophrah: and all Israel went thither a whoring after it: which thing became a snare unto Gideon, and to his house.

  • Hebrews 10:26

    For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,

  • 1 Samuel 2:18

    But Samuel ministered before the Lord, being a child, girded with a linen ephod.

  • Luke 21:24

    And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
without a king.
10:3; Ge 49:10; Jer 15:4,5; Joh 19:15
without a sacrifice.
2Ch 15:2; Da 8:11-13; 9:27; 12:11; Mt 24:1,2; Lu 21:24; Ac 6:13,14
Heb 10:26
an image. Heb. a standing, or statue, or pillar.
Isa 19:19,20
ephod.
Ex 28:4; Le 8:7; Jud 8:27; 17:5; 1Sa 2:18; 14:3; 21:9; 22:18; 23:6,9
1Sa 30:7; 2Sa 6:14
without teraphim.
Ge 31:19; *marg:
Jud 17:5; 18:17-24; 2Ki 23:24; *marg:
Eze 20:32; 21:21; *marg:
Mic 5:11-14; Zec 13:2

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

Context

  • Hosea 3:3

    And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.

  • 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:

  • Hosea 3:5

    Afterward shall the children of Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and David their king; and shall fear the Lord and his goodness in the latter days.

Read all of Hosea 3

Hosea 3:4 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Porque muchos días estarán los hijos de Israel sin rey, y sin príncipe, y sin sacrificio, y sin estatua, y sin ephod, y sin teraphim.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Car les fils d’Israël resteront beaucoup de jours sans roi, et sans prince, et sans sacrifice, et sans statue, et sans éphod ni théraphim.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Denn die Kinder Israel werden viele Tage ohne König bleiben und ohne Fürsten, und ohne Schlachtopfer und ohne Bildsäule und ohne Ephod und Teraphim.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Quia dies multos sedebunt filii Israël sine rege, et sine principe, et sine sacrificio, et sine altari, et sine ephod, et sine theraphim.