Surely now they will say, “We have no king; for we don’t fear Yahweh; and the king, what can he do for us?”
Parallel translations
- KJV For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to 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 Bethel will do to you because of your great wickedness. At daybreak the king of Israel will be destroyed.
- Hos 10:7Samaria and her king float away, like a twig on the water.
- Hos 13:11I have given you a king in my anger, and have taken him away in my wrath.
- Mic 4:9Now why do you cry out aloud? Is there no king in you? Has your counselor perished, that pains have taken hold of you as of a woman in travail?
- John 19:15They cried out, “Away with him! Away with him! Crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar!”
- Hos 3:4For the children of Israel shall live many days without king, and without prince, and without sacrifice, and without sacred stone, and without ephod or idols.
- Gen 49:10The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet, until he comes to whom it belongs. To him will the obedience of the peoples be.
- Hos 11:5“They won’t return into the land of Egypt; but the Assyrian will be their king, because they refused to repent.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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
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