Hosea 10:1-8
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Israel’s Sin and Captivity
10 Israel is a luxuriant vine
that yields its fruit.
The more his fruit increased,
the more altars he built;
as his country improved,
he improved his pillars.(A)
2 Their heart is false;
now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord[a] will break down their altars
and destroy their pillars.(B)
3 For now they will say:
“We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord,
and a king—what could he do for us?”
4 They utter mere words;
with empty oaths they make covenants;
so litigation springs up like poisonous weeds
in the furrows of the field.(C)
5 The inhabitants of Samaria tremble
for the calf[b] of Beth-aven.
Its people shall mourn for it,
and its idolatrous priests shall wail[c] over it,
over its glory that has departed from it.(D)
6 The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria
as tribute to the great king.[d]
Ephraim shall be put to shame,
and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol.[e](E)
7 Samaria’s king shall perish
like a chip on the face of the waters.(F)
8 The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel,
shall be destroyed.
Thorn and thistle shall grow up
on their altars.
They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,”
and to the hills, “Fall on us.”(G)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.