Hosea 14:3 (ASV)

Passage

Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, [Ye are] our gods; for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

Nearby Context

Hosea 14:1 O Israel, return unto Jehovah thy God; for thou hast fallen by thine iniquity.

Hosea 14:2 Take with you words, and return unto Jehovah: say unto him, Take away all iniquity, and accept that which is good: so will we render [as] bullocks [the offering of] our lips.

Hosea 14:3 Assyria shall not save us; we will not ride upon horses; neither will we say any more to the work of our hands, [Ye are] our gods; for in thee the fatherless findeth mercy.

Hosea 14:4 I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely; for mine anger is turned away from him.

Hosea 14:5 I will be as the dew unto Israel; he shall blossom as the lily, and cast forth his roots as Lebanon.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "mercy", "assyria", "shall", "save", "ride", "upon", "horses", and "neither". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "mercy" and "assyria", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Take with you words and return unto..." into verse 4's "I will heal their backsliding I will...", so "mercy" and "assyria" belong inside that flow. In Hosea context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "mercy" and "assyria" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.