They have set up kings, but not by me: they have made princes, and I knew it not: of their silver and their gold have they made them idols, that they may be cut off.
All Commentaries on Hosea 8:4 Go To Hosea 8
John Chrysostom
AD 407
Hear how he reproves the unfaithful, when he says, “You have taken counsel, but not of me, and made treaties, but not by my Spirit.” For this is the habit of those who love: they desire that all concerns of their beloved should be accomplished by means of themselves and that no one should do anything, or say anything, without them. On this account did God not only on that occasion, but again elsewhere, utter a reproof in the same terms: “They made kings, but not through me. They set up princes, but they did not make it known to me.”
