Hosea 10:3
in Hosea 10Surely now they will say, “We have no king, for we do not revere the LORD. What can a king do for us?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Surely now shall they say, We have no king; for we fear not Jehovah; and the king, what can he do for us?
KJV
For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the Lord; what then should a king do to us?
⋯
This verse in Hosea 10
Commentary
8 notes on this verseBecause now they will say, 'There is no king for us, for we did not fear the Lord, and what will the king do to us?' Speaking words of useless vision, and you will strike a covenant, and judgment will germinate like bitterness over the furrows of the field. "LXX: "Therefore now they will say, there is no king for us, because we did not fear the Lord, but what will the king do to us? Speaking words, false excuses: he will arrange a testament, and judgment will arise like grass over the desert of the field.
This site's exposition
We have no king
on Hosea 10:3-4
We have no king, because we feared not the Lord confesses the political chaos of Israel's last decades, a throne seized by murder five times over in Hosea's own lifetime, and the confession admits the cause was spiritual before it was ever political. What then should a king do to us voices the people's own despair at a monarchy that never delivered what it promised. Judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows names the covenant sworn falsely turning bitter in the very ground it was meant to bless, the field itself yielding poison instead of grain.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Time was when they doted upon having a king; but now what can a king (who, they thought, could do any thing) do for them? God can make people sick of those creature-confidences which they were most fond of. This is their complaint when their king is disabled to help them, yet this is not the worst; their civil government shall not only be weakened, but quite destroyed (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
For now they shall say, we have no king,....
They are charged with imitating the sins of their fathers, and with security in their own sins, and are threatened with smarting humbling judgments,
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
For 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; and now as the close of all, they reflect how fruitless it all was.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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?
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
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.
The words behind it
15 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עַתָּה֙ | ʾatah | now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| יֹֽאמְר֔וּ | yomeru | they will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵ֥ין | ʾein | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מֶ֖לֶךְ | melekh | a king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| לָ֑נוּ | lanu | [belongs] to us | ||
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָרֵ֙אנוּ֙ | yarenu | we fear | H3372 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יְהֹוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְהַמֶּ֖לֶךְ | vehamelekh | and the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| יַּֽעֲשֶׂה־ | yaaseh- | will he do | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָּֽנוּ׃ | lanu | for us |
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
עַתָּה֙now
ʾatahH6258 →433 times
יֹֽאמְר֔וּthey will say
yomeruH559 →5305 times
אֵ֥יןnot
ʾeinH369 →789 times
מֶ֖לֶךְa king
melekhH4428 →2525 times
לָ֑נוּ[belongs] to us
lanu
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יָרֵ֙אנוּ֙we fear
yarenuH3372 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יְהֹוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְהַמֶּ֖לֶךְand the king
vehamelekhH4428 →2525 times
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
יַּֽעֲשֶׂה־will he do
yaaseh-H6213 →2628 times
לָּֽנוּ׃for us
lanu
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Genesis 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the staff from between his feet, until Shiloh comes and the allegiance of the nations is his.
it leads to
- Numbers 24:17
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come forth from Jacob, and a scepter will arise from Israel. He will crush the skulls of Moab and…
- Luke 1:32–33
He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
- Psalms 60:7
Gilead is Mine, and Manasseh is Mine; Ephraim is My helmet, Judah is My scepter.
- Isaiah 9:6
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of…
- Jeremiah 23:5–6
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and He will reign wisely as King and will administer justice and righteousness in the land.
- Numbers 24:17
Through
John 19:15At this, they shouted, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!” “Shall I crucify your King?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” replied the chief priests.
it leads to
- Luke 23:18
But they all cried out in unison: “Away with this man! Release Barabbas to us!”
- Acts 21:36
For the crowd that followed him kept shouting, “Away with him!”
- Luke 23:18
Through
Hosea 10:15Thus it will be done to you, O Bethel, because of your great wickedness. When the day dawns, the king of Israel will be utterly cut off.
it leads to
- Hosea 10:5
The people of Samaria will fear for the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn with its idolatrous priests— those who rejoiced in its glory— for it has been taken from them into…
- Hosea 10:5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Hosea
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 10:3-4; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.