So in My anger I gave you a king, and in My wrath I took him away.
Parallel translations
- WEB I have given you a king in my anger, and have taken him away in my wrath.
- KJV I gave thee a king in mine anger, and took him away in my wrath.
- NKJV I gave you a king in My anger, And took him away in My wrath.
- NASB I gave you a king in My anger, And took him away in My wrath.
- NLT In my anger I gave you kings, and in my fury I took them away.
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
God gave Israel a king in his anger and took him away in his wrath. It shows that their monarchy itself was bound up with judgment.
Overview
This reflects God's displeasure at Israel's demand for a king and at the rebellious northern dynasties that followed. What they sought as security became part of their chastisement. The verse warns that gifts pursued apart from God's will can become instruments of his judgment.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 1 Sam 10:19But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions, and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the LORD by your tribes and clans.”
- Prov 28:2A land in rebellion has many rulers, but a man of understanding and knowledge maintains order.
- 1 Sam 16:1Now the LORD said to Samuel, “How long are you going to mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and go. I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem, for I have selected from his sons a king for Myself.”
- 1 Sam 8:7–9And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.
- Hos 10:3Surely now they will say, “We have no king, for we do not revere the LORD. What can a king do for us?”
- 1 Kgs 14:7–16Go, tell Jeroboam that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘I raised you up from among the people and appointed you ruler over My people Israel.
- 1 Kgs 12:15–16So the king did not listen to the people, and indeed this turn of events was from the LORD, to fulfill the word He had spoken to Jeroboam son of Nebat through Ahijah the Shilonite.
- 1 Sam 12:13Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you requested. Behold, the LORD has placed a king over you.
- 1 Sam 31:1–7Now the Philistines fought against Israel, and the men of Israel fled before them, and many fell slain on Mount Gilboa.
- 1 Kgs 12:26–32Jeroboam said in his heart, “Now the kingdom might revert to the house of David.
- 1 Sam 15:22–23But Samuel declared: “Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obedience to His voice? Behold, obedience is better than sacrifice, and attentiveness is better than the fat of rams.
- 2 Kgs 17:1–4In the twelfth year of the reign of Ahaz over Judah, Hoshea son of Elah became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria nine years.
- Hos 10:7Samaria will be carried off with her king like a twig on the surface of the water.
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 13:11 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.