14 “On the day I punish(A) Israel for her sins,
    I will destroy the altars of Bethel;(B)
the horns(C) of the altar will be cut off
    and fall to the ground.

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14 That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.

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15 Even the altar(A) at Bethel, the high place made by Jeroboam(B) son of Nebat, who had caused Israel to sin—even that altar and high place he demolished. He burned the high place and ground it to powder, and burned the Asherah pole also.

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15 Moreover the altar that was at Bethel, and the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, had made, both that altar and the high place he brake down, and burned the high place, and stamped it small to powder, and burned the grove.

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The people who live in Samaria fear
    for the calf-idol(A) of Beth Aven.[a](B)
Its people will mourn over it,
    and so will its idolatrous priests,(C)
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
    because it is taken from them into exile.(D)
It will be carried to Assyria(E)
    as tribute(F) for the great king.(G)
Ephraim will be disgraced;(H)
    Israel will be ashamed(I) of its foreign alliances.
Samaria’s king will be destroyed,(J)
    swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
The high places(K) of wickedness[b](L) will be destroyed—
    it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns(M) and thistles will grow up
    and cover their altars.(N)
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”(O)
    and to the hills, “Fall on us!”(P)

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 10:5 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
  2. Hosea 10:8 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see verse 5.

The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.

It shall be also carried unto Assyria for a present to king Jareb: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.

As for Samaria, her king is cut off as the foam upon the water.

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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14 the roar of battle will rise against your people,
    so that all your fortresses will be devastated(A)
as Shalman(B) devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
    when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.(C)
15 So will it happen to you, Bethel,
    because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
    the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.(D)

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14 Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Betharbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.

15 So shall Bethel do unto you because of your great wickedness: in a morning shall the king of Israel utterly be cut off.

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In the towns of Manasseh, Ephraim and Simeon, as far as Naphtali, and in the ruins around them, he tore down the altars and the Asherah poles and crushed the idols to powder(A) and cut to pieces all the incense altars throughout Israel. Then he went back to Jerusalem.

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And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about.

And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem.

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    do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,(A)
    do not journey to Beersheba.(B)
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
    and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.[a](C)
Seek(D) the Lord and live,(E)
    or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;(F)
it will devour them,
    and Bethel(G) will have no one to quench it.(H)

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 5:5 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see Hosea 4:15.

But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.

Seek the Lord, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.

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“Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
    a place for planting vineyards.(A)
I will pour her stones(B) into the valley
    and lay bare her foundations.(C)
All her idols(D) will be broken to pieces;(E)
    all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
    I will destroy all her images.(F)
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,(G)
    as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

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Therefore I will make Samaria as an heap of the field, and as plantings of a vineyard: and I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, and I will discover the foundations thereof.

And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to pieces, and all the hires thereof shall be burned with the fire, and all the idols thereof will I lay desolate: for she gathered it of the hire of an harlot, and they shall return to the hire of an harlot.

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Israel to Be Destroyed

I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:

“Strike the tops of the pillars
    so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads(A) of all the people;
    those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
    none will escape.(B)

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I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.

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31 When all this had ended, the Israelites who were there went out to the towns of Judah, smashed the sacred stones and cut down(A) the Asherah poles. They destroyed the high places and the altars throughout Judah and Benjamin and in Ephraim and Manasseh. After they had destroyed all of them, the Israelites returned to their own towns and to their own property.

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31 Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high places and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities.

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By the word of the Lord he cried out against the altar: “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: ‘A son named Josiah(A) will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places(B) who make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.’” That same day the man of God gave a sign:(C) “This is the sign the Lord has declared: The altar will be split apart and the ashes on it will be poured out.”

When King Jeroboam heard what the man of God cried out against the altar at Bethel, he stretched out his hand from the altar and said, “Seize him!” But the hand he stretched out toward the man shriveled up, so that he could not pull it back. Also, the altar was split apart and its ashes poured out according to the sign given by the man of God by the word of the Lord.

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And he cried against the altar in the word of the Lord, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the Lord; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee.

And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the Lord hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out.

And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him.

The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the Lord.

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34 Now go, lead(A) the people to the place(B) I spoke of, and my angel(C) will go before you. However, when the time comes for me to punish,(D) I will punish them for their sin.”

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34 Therefore now go, lead the people unto the place of which I have spoken unto thee: behold, mine Angel shall go before thee: nevertheless in the day when I visit I will visit their sin upon them.

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