21 Alternately, “Aven” (, , , ) for the city name “Beth Aven.” The term “Beth” (house) does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied (e.g., Hos 4:15). It is supplied in the translation for clarity.
22 The reads בָּמוֹת אָוֶן (bamot ’aven, “high places of Aven”); however, several Hebrew read בָּמוֹת בֵּית אָוֶן (bamot bet ’aven, “high places of Beth Aven”). In Hos 4:15 the name בֵּית אָוֶן (“Beth Aven”; Heb “house of wickedness”) is a wordplay on “Bethel” (Heb “house of God”). It is possible that בָּמוֹת בֵּית אָוֶן (“high places of Beth Aven”) was original: בֵּית (bet, “house”) dropped out as an unintentional scribal error by haplography due to presence of the consonants בת in the preceding word במות (bamot, “high places”). Heb “high places of wickedness” (בָּמוֹת אָוֶן, bamot ’aven); so . The noun אָוֶן (“wickedness”) is an attributive genitive: “wicked high places.”

In other versions

The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,

shall be destroyed.

Thorn and thistle shall grow up

on their altars,

and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,”

and to the hills, “Fall on us.”

The high places of wickedness will be destroyed—

it is the sin of Israel.

Thorns and thistles will grow up

and cover their altars.

Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”

and to the hills, “Fall on us!”

The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,

will be destroyed;

thorns and thistles will grow over their altars.

They will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”

and to the hills, “Fall on us!”

And the pagan shrines of Aven, the place of Israel’s sin, will crumble.

Thorns and thistles will grow up around their altars.

They will beg the mountains, “Bury us!”

and plead with the hills, “Fall on us!”

The high places of Aven,

the sin of Israel, will be destroyed.

Thorn and thistle will grow

on their altars.

They will say to the mountains, “Cover us,”

and to the hills, “Fall on us.”

The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed:

The thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars;

And they shall say to the mountains, Cover us;

And to the hills, Fall on us.

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