Hosea 10

Chapter 10

Retribution for Israel’s Sin

¹Israel is a ¹luxuriant ^avine;

He produces fruit for himself.

The more his fruit,

The more altars he ^bmade;

The ²richer his land,

The better ³he made the sacred ^cpillars.

²Their heart is ^1afaithless;

Now they must bear their ^bguilt.

²The Lord will ^cbreak down their altars

And destroy their sacred pillars.

³Surely now they will say, “We have ^ano king,

For we do not revere the Lord.

As for the king, what can he do for us?”

⁴They speak mere words,

¹With ^aworthless oaths they make covenants;

And ^bjudgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.

⁵The inhabitants of Samaria will fear

For the ^1acalf of ^bBeth-aven.

Indeed, its people will mourn for it,

And its ^cidolatrous priests ²will cry out over it,

Over its ^dglory, since it has departed from it.

⁶The thing itself will be carried to ^aAssyria

As tribute to ^1bKing Jareb;

Ephraim will ²be ^cseized with shame

And Israel will be ashamed of its ^down counsel.

⁷Samaria will be ^acut off with her king

Like a stick on the surface of the water.

⁸Also the ^ahigh places of Aven, the ^bsin of Israel, will be destroyed;

^cThorn and thistle will grow on their altars;

Then they will ^dsay to the mountains,

“Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”

⁹From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel;

There they stand!

Will not the battle against the sons of iniquity overtake them in Gibeah?

¹⁰When it is My ^adesire, I will ^1bchastise them;

And ^cthe peoples will be gathered against them

When they are bound for their double guilt.

¹¹Ephraim is a trained ^aheifer that loves to thresh,

But I will ^bcome over her fair neck with a yoke;

I will harness Ephraim,

Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself.

^12aSow with a view to righteousness,

Reap in accordance with ¹kindness;

^bBreak up your fallow ground,

For it is time to ^cseek the Lord

Until He ^dcomes to ^2erain righteousness on you.

¹³You have ^aplowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice,

You have eaten the fruit of ^blies.

Because you have trusted in your way, in your ^cnumerous warriors,

¹⁴Therefore a tumult will arise among your people,

And all your ^afortresses will be destroyed,

As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,

When ^bmothers were dashed in pieces with their children.

¹⁵Thus it will be done to you at Bethel because of your great wickedness.

At dawn the king of Israel will be completely cut off.