Hosea 10:3 (KJV)

Passage

For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us?

Nearby Context

Hosea 10:1 Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images.

Hosea 10:2 Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.

Hosea 10:3 For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us?

Hosea 10:4 They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.

Hosea 10:5 The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "king", "feared", "lord", and "should". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "king", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 2's "Their heart is divided now shall they..." into verse 4's "They have spoken words swearing falsely in...", so "shall" and "king" 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 "shall" and "king" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.