Hosea 10:1-15 - Israel Is Punished

¹ Israel is a lush vine;
it yields fruit for itself.
The more his fruit increased,
the more he increased the altars.
The better his land produced,
the better they made the sacred pillars.
² Their hearts are devious;
now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars
and demolish their sacred pillars.
³ In fact, they are now saying,
“We have no king!
For we do not fear the Lord.
What can a king do for us?”
⁴ They speak mere words,
taking false oaths while making covenants.
So lawsuits break out
like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.

⁵ The residents of Samaria will have anxiety
over the calf of Beth-aven.
Indeed, its idolatrous priests rejoiced over it;
the people will mourn over it,
over its glory.
It will certainly depart from them.
⁶ The calf itself will be taken to Assyria
as an offering to the great king.
Ephraim will experience shame;
Israel will be ashamed of its counsel.
⁷ Samaria’s king will disappear
like foam on the surface of the water.
⁸ 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!”

⁹ Israel, you have sinned
since the days of Gibeah;
they have taken their stand there.
Will not war against the unjust
overtake them in Gibeah?
¹⁰ I will discipline them at My discretion;
nations will be gathered against them
to put them in bondage
for their two crimes.

¹¹ Ephraim is a well-trained calf
that loves to thresh,
but I will place a yoke on her fine neck.
I will harness Ephraim;
Judah will plow;
Jacob will do the final plowing.
¹² Sow righteousness for yourselves
and reap faithful love;
break up your unplowed ground.
It is time to seek the Lord
until He comes and sends righteousness
on you like the rain.

¹³ You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way
and in your large number of soldiers,
¹⁴ the roar of battle will rise against your people,
and all your fortifications will be demolished
in a day of war,
like Shalman’s destruction of Beth-arbel.
Mothers will be dashed to pieces
along with their children.
¹⁵ So it will be done to you, Bethel,
because of your extreme evil.
At dawn the king of Israel will be totally destroyed.