Bible Strands
Hosea 14:3
Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The prophet delivers God’s declaration to a repentant Israelite audience following the call to return with confession and fruit of lips. The moment marks the transition from judgment to promised restoration.
The words — אַשּ֣וּר ('a.Shur) literally denotes Assyria, the historical empire that once served as Israel’s political shield. סוּס (sus) translates to horse[s], representing the military and economic power the nation abandoned.
The thread — The rejection of military reliance mirrors Isaiah 31:1, which condemns those who trust in chariots and horses rather than divine help. The promise that “the fatherless find compassion” echoes the psalmist’s description of God as a father to the fatherless in Psalms 68:5.
Why it lands — The text commands the cessation of idolatrous trust in human strength and political alliances. It requires the reader to transfer reliance from visible institutions to divine compassion alone.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Asshur 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.
Cross-references
- Psalms 10:14 But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.
- Psalms 68:5 A father of the fatherless and a defender of widows is God in His holy habitation.
- Isaiah 31:1 Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help, who rely on horses, who trust in their abundance of chariots and in their multitude of horsemen. They do not look to the Holy One of Israel; they do not seek the LORD.
- John 14:18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
- Psalms 33:17 A horse is a vain hope for salvation; even its great strength cannot save.
- Isaiah 30:16 “No,” you say, “we will flee on horses.” Therefore you will flee! “We will ride swift horses,” but your pursuers will be faster.
- Hosea 2:17 For I will remove from her lips the names of the Baals; no longer will their names be invoked.
- Hosea 5:13 When Ephraim saw his sickness and Judah his wound, then Ephraim turned to Assyria and sent to the great king. But he cannot cure you or heal your wound.
- Hosea 14:8 O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me.
- Exodus 22:22 You must not mistreat any widow or orphan.