Hosea 10:3-10

New American Standard Bible

³ Certainly now they will say, “We have ^(A)no king,
For we do not revere the Lord.
As for the king, what can he do for us?”
⁴ They speak mere words,
^[a]With ^(B)worthless oaths they make covenants;
And ^(C)judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
⁵ The inhabitants of Samaria will fear
For the ^[b](D)calf of ^(E)Beth-aven.
Indeed, its people will mourn for it,
And its ^(F)idolatrous priests ^[c]will cry out over it,
Over its ^(G)glory, since it has left it.
⁶ The thing itself will be brought to ^(H)Assyria
As a gift of tribute to ^[d](I)King Jareb;
Ephraim will ^[e]be ^(J)seized with shame,
And Israel will be ashamed of its ^(K)own plan.
⁷ Samaria will be ^(L)destroyed with her king,
Like a twig on the surface of the water.
⁸ Also the ^(M)high places of Aven, the ^(N)sin of Israel, will be destroyed;
^(O)Thorns and thistles will grow on their altars;
Then they will ^(P)say to the mountains,
“Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
⁹ Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, Israel;
There they stand!
Will the battle against the sons of injustice not overtake them in Gibeah?
¹⁰ When it is My ^(Q)desire, I will ^[f](R)discipline them;
And ^(S)the peoples will be gathered against them
When they are bound for their double guilt.