3 Then they will say, "We have no king because we did not revere the Lord. But even if we had a king, what could he do for us?"
3 For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the Lord; what then should a king do to us?
3 For now they will say: "We have no king, for we do not fear the Lord; and a king--what could he do for us?"
3 They go around saying, "Who needs a king? We couldn't care less about God, so why bother with a king? What difference would he make?"
3 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?"
3 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?"
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Hosea 10:3
Commentary on Hosea 10:1-8
(Read Hosea 10:1-8)
A vine is only valuable for its fruit; but Israel now brought no fruit to perfection. Their hearts were divided. God is the Sovereign of the heart; he will have all, or none. Were the stream of the heart wholly after God, it would run strongly, and bear down all before it. Their pretences to covenant with God were false. Even the proceeding of justice was as poisonous hemlock. Alas, how empty a vine is the visible church even at this day! But all earthly prosperity is but a collection of bubbles, soon destroyed like foam upon the water. Sinners will in vain seek shelter from that Judge, whom they now despise as a Saviour.