Hosea 10
Lexham English Bible
Israel Is Punished
10 Israel is a luxuriant vine;[a]
he yields fruit for himself.
The more his fruit increased,
the more he made numerous altars.
The more his land prospered,
the more he[b] improved[c] his stone pillars.
2 Their heart is false;
now they must bear their guilt.
He himself[d] will break down their altars;
he will destroy their stone pillars.
3 For now they will say,
“We have no king;
indeed, we did not fear Yahweh,
and what can a king do for us?”
4 They utter words of vain oaths
when making covenants,[e]
and judgment blossoms like a poisonous plant
on the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants[f] of Samaria tremble
for the calf[g] of Beth-aven.
Indeed, his people will mourn for it,
and his idolatrous priests will wail[h] over it—
over its glory because it has departed from it.
6 It will also be brought to Assyria,
as tribute to the great king.[i]
Ephraim will obtain disgrace
and Israel will be ashamed from his advice.[j]
7 Samaria will be destroyed;
her king is like a chip on the surface of the water.
8 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.”
9 From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel;
there they have remained.[k]
Will not war in Gibeah overtake them
against the children of evil?
10 In my desire[l] I will punish them;
nations will be gathered against them
when they are punished for their double iniquities.[m]
11 Ephraim was a trained heifer,
that loved to thresh grain,
and I myself spared[n]
the fairness of her neck;
I will make Ephraim break the ground,
Judah will plow,
Jacob must till for himself.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap loyal love.[o]
Break up for yourself fallow ground;
it is time to seek Yahweh
so he will come and rain
righteousness upon you.
13 You have plowed wickedness,
you have reaped injustice,
you have eaten the fruit of lies,[p]
because you have trusted in your strength,
in the multitude of your warriors.
14 The tumult of war will rise up against your people,
and all your fortresses will be destroyed,
as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel;
on the day of war
mothers were dashed to pieces with their children.[q]
15 So it will be done to you, O Bethel,
because of the evil of your wickedness;
at dawn, the king of Israel
will be utterly destroyed.
Footnotes
- Hosea 10:1 Or “ravaged vine”
- Hosea 10:1 Hebrew “they”
- Hosea 10:1 Or “made beautiful”
- Hosea 10:2 That is, “Yahweh himself”
- Hosea 10:4 Literally “cutting covenant”
- Hosea 10:5 Hebrew “inhabitant”
- Hosea 10:5 Hebrew “calves”
- Hosea 10:5 Or “rejoice”
- Hosea 10:6 See 5:13; some translate literally “King Jareb”
- Hosea 10:6 Or “counsel”
- Hosea 10:9 Literally “they stood”
- Hosea 10:10 The LXX translates “I will come”
- Hosea 10:10 So Qere; Masoretic Hebrew text (Kethib) “their two eyes”
- Hosea 10:11 Literally “passed over”
- Hosea 10:12 Literally “reap according to loyal love”
- Hosea 10:13 Hebrew “lie”
- Hosea 10:14 Or “upon their children”
Hosea 10
Common English Bible
The folly of Israel’s idolatry
10 Israel is a growing vine
that yields its fruit.
The more his fruit increased,
the more altars he built;
the richer his land became,
the more he set up sacred standing stones.
2 Their heart is false;
now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars
and destroy their standing stones.
3 For now they will say:
“We have no king,
because we don’t love the Lord.
What then could a king do for us?”
4 They have spoken empty words,
swearing falsely when making covenants;
so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds
in the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria shake
because of the calf of Beth-aven.
Its people will mourn over it,
just as its idolatrous priests who rejoiced over its glory that is now gone.
Shame and punishment
6 To Assyria it will be carried
as a gift for the great king.
Ephraim will be put to shame;
Israel will be ashamed of his own idol.
7 Samaria will be cut off;
her king is like a chip of wood on the surface of the water.
8 The sin of Israel, the shrines of Aven
will be torn down.
Thorn and thistle will sprout up
on their altars.
They will say to the mountains, “Cover us,”
to the hills, “Fall on us.”
9 Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel;
there they have continued.
Will not war overtake them in Gibeah?
10 I will come and punish them;
nations will be gathered against them
when they are punished for their double crime.
11 Ephraim was a trained cow that loved to pull a plow;
I spared her fair neck;
but I will make Ephraim break through the ground;
Judah will plow;
Jacob will turn the soil for himself.
12 Sow for yourselves righteousness;
reap faithful love;
break up your unplanted ground,
for it is time to seek the Lord,
that he may come
and rain righteousness upon you.
13 You have plowed wickedness,
you have reaped depravity,
you have eaten the fruit of lies,
because you have trusted in your way
and in your many warriors.
14 Therefore, the noise of war will rise against your people;
all your fortresses will be destroyed,
as Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,
when mothers were dashed into pieces with their children.
15 It will indeed happen to you, Bethel,
because of your great wickedness.
At dawn, the king of Israel will be cut off completely.
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