For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us?
Parallel translations
- WEB Surely now they will say, “We have no king; for we don’t fear Yahweh; and the king, what can he do for us?”
- BSB Surely now they will say, “We have no king, for we do not revere the LORD. What can a king do for us?”
- 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?”
- NASB ¶Certainly now they will say, “We have no king, For we do not revere the Lord. As for the king, what can he do for us?”
- 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?”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
They will admit they have no king because they did not fear the LORD, and wonder what a king could even do for them.
Overview
In the day of judgment Israel will confess the failure of their monarchy, recognizing that their lack of the fear of God left them without true leadership. Their despairing question reveals that earthly kings cannot save a people who have abandoned God. This exposes the need for a King who rules in the fear of the LORD, fulfilled in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Hos 10:15So shall Bethel do unto you because of your great wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.
- Hos 10:7As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water.
- Hos 13:11I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.
- Mic 4:9Now 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.
- John 19:15But 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 Caesar.
- Hos 3:4For 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:
- Gen 49:10The 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.
- Hos 11:5He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
God's relentless love for an unfaithful bride dramatizes the gospel: 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled in Jesus, who redeems an adulterous people at his own cost.
How Hosea 10:3 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.