Hosea 10:1-8
Hosea 10:1-8 The Message (MSG)
Israel was once a lush vine, bountiful in grapes. The more lavish the harvest, the more promiscuous the worship. The more money they got, the more they squandered on gods-in-their-own-image. Their sweet smiles are sheer lies. They’re guilty as sin. God will smash their worship shrines, pulverize their god-images. They go around saying, “Who needs a king? We couldn’t care less about GOD, so why bother with a king? What difference would he make?” They talk big, lie through their teeth, make deals. But their high-sounding words turn out to be empty words, litter in the gutters. The people of Samaria travel over to Crime City to worship the golden calf-god. They go all out, prancing and hollering, taken in by their showmen priests. They act so important around the calf-god, but are oblivious to the sham, the shame. They have plans to take it to Assyria, present it as a gift to the great king. And so Ephraim makes a fool of himself, disgraces Israel with his stupid idols. Samaria is history. Its king is a dead branch floating down the river. Israel’s favorite sin centers will all be torn down. Thistles and crabgrass will decorate their ruined altars. Then they’ll say to the mountains, “Bury us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Hosea 10:1-8 King James Version (KJV)
Israel is an empty vine, he bringeth forth fruit unto himself: according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the altars; according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly images. Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images. For now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the LORD; what then should a king do to us? They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field. The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Beth-aven: 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.
Hosea 10:1-8 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Israel is a luxuriant vine; He produces fruit for himself. The more his fruit, The more altars he made; The richer his land, The better he made the sacred pillars. Their heart is faithless; Now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars And destroy their sacred pillars. Surely now they will say, “We have no king, For we do not revere the LORD. As for the king, what can he do for us?” They speak mere words, With worthless oaths they make covenants; And judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field. The inhabitants of Samaria will fear For the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn for it, And its idolatrous priests will cry out over it, Over its glory, since it has departed from it. The thing itself will be carried to Assyria As tribute to King Jareb; Ephraim will be seized with shame And Israel will be ashamed of its own counsel. Samaria will be cut off with her king Like a stick on the surface of the water. Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed; Thorn and thistle will grow on their altars; Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Hosea 10:1-8 New Century Version (NCV)
Israel is like a large vine that produced plenty of fruit. As the people became richer, they built more altars for idols. As their land became better, they put up better stone pillars to honor gods. Their heart was false, and now they must pay for their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars; he will destroy their holy stone pillars. Then they will say, “We have no king, because we didn’t honor the LORD. As for the king, he couldn’t do anything for us.” They make many false promises and agreements which they don’t keep. So people sue each other in court; they are like poisonous weeds growing in a plowed field. The people from Israel are worried about the calf-shaped idol at Beth Aven. The people will cry about it, and the priests will cry about it. They used to shout for joy about its glory, but it will be carried off to Assyria as a gift to the great king. Israel will be disgraced, and the people will be ashamed for not obeying. Israel will be destroyed; its king will be like a chip of wood floating on the water. The places of false worship will be destroyed, the places where Israel sins. Thorns and weeds will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Hosea 10:1-8 American Standard Version (ASV)
Israel is a luxuriant vine, that putteth forth his fruit: according to the abundance of his fruit he hath multiplied his altars; according to the goodness of their land they have made goodly pillars. Their heart is divided; now shall they be found guilty: he will smite their altars, he will destroy their pillars. Surely now shall they say, We have no king; for we fear not Jehovah; and the king, what can he do for us? They speak vain words, swearing falsely in making covenants: therefore judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field. The inhabitants of Samaria shall be in terror for the calves of Beth-aven; for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced over it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it. It also shall be 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 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.
Hosea 10:1-8 New International Version (NIV)
Israel was a spreading vine; he brought forth fruit for himself. As his fruit increased, he built more altars; as his land prospered, he adorned his sacred stones. Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones. Then they will say, “We have no king because we did not revere the LORD. But even if we had a king, what could he do for us?” They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements; therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field. The people who live in Samaria fear for the calf-idol of Beth Aven. Its people will mourn over it, and so will its idolatrous priests, those who had rejoiced over its splendor, because it is taken from them into exile. It will be carried to Assyria as tribute for the great king. Ephraim will be disgraced; Israel will be ashamed of its foreign alliances. Samaria’s king will be destroyed, swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters. The high places of wickedness will be destroyed— it is the sin of Israel. Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Hosea 10:1-8 New King James Version (NKJV)
Israel empties his vine; He brings forth fruit for himself. According to the multitude of his fruit He has increased the altars; According to the bounty of his land They have embellished his sacred pillars. Their heart is divided; Now they are held guilty. He will break down their altars; He will ruin their sacred pillars. For now they say, “We have no king, Because we did not fear the LORD. And as for a king, what would he do for us?” They have spoken words, Swearing falsely in making a covenant. Thus judgment springs up like hemlock in the furrows of the field. The inhabitants of Samaria fear Because of the calf of Beth Aven. For its people mourn for it, And its priests shriek for it— Because its glory has departed from it. The idol also shall be carried to Assyria As a present for King Jareb. Ephraim shall receive shame, And Israel shall be ashamed of his own counsel. As for Samaria, her king is cut off Like a twig on the water. Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, Shall be destroyed. The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars; They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Hosea 10:1-8 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Israel is a luxuriant and prolific vine; He produces fruit for himself. The more his fruit, The more altars he made [to Baal]; The richer his land, The better he made the [idolatrous] pillars. Their heart is divided (faithless); Now they must bear their guilt and punishment. The LORD will break down [the horns of] their altars; He will destroy their idolatrous pillars. ¶Surely now they will say [in despair], “We have no [true] king, For we do not revere the LORD; And as for the king, what can he do for us [to rescue us]?” They have spoken empty (disingenuous) words, Swearing falsely to make covenants [they intend to break]; Therefore, judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field. The people of Samaria will fear and tremble For the [idolatrous] calf of Beth-aven (House of Wickedness). Indeed, its people will mourn over it And its idolatrous priests will cry out and wail over it, Over its glory, because the glory [of their calf god] has departed from it. The golden calf itself will be carried to Assyria As tribute to King Jareb; Ephraim will be seized with shame And Israel will be ashamed of his own counsel [to worship the calf and separate Israel from Judah]. As for Samaria, her king will be cut off and float away Like a twig on the surface of the water. Also the high places of Aven (Beth-aven), the sin of Israel, will be destroyed; The thorn and the thistle will grow on their [pagan] altars, And [in despair] they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!” [Luke 23:30; Rev 6:16; 9:6]
Hosea 10:1-8 New Living Translation (NLT)
How prosperous Israel is— a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit. But the richer the people get, the more pagan altars they build. The more bountiful their harvests, the more beautiful their sacred pillars. The hearts of the people are fickle; they are guilty and must be punished. The LORD will break down their altars and smash their sacred pillars. Then they will say, “We have no king because we didn’t fear the LORD. But even if we had a king, what could he do for us anyway?” They spout empty words and make covenants they don’t intend to keep. So injustice springs up among them like poisonous weeds in a farmer’s field. The people of Samaria tremble in fear for their calf idol at Beth-aven, and they mourn for it. Though its priests rejoice over it, its glory will be stripped away. This idol will be carted away to Assyria, a gift to the great king there. Ephraim will be ridiculed and Israel will be shamed, because its people have trusted in this idol. Samaria and its king will be cut off; they will float away like driftwood on an ocean wave. And the pagan shrines of Aven, the place of Israel’s sin, will crumble. Thorns and thistles will grow up around their altars. They will beg the mountains, “Bury us!” and plead with the hills, “Fall on us!”
Hosea 10:1-8 English Standard Version Revision 2016 (ESV)
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. Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and destroy their pillars. 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?” They utter mere words; with empty oaths they make covenants; so judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field. The inhabitants of Samaria tremble for the calf of Beth-aven. Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests— those who rejoiced over it and over its glory— for it has departed from them. The thing itself shall be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim shall be put to shame, and Israel shall be ashamed of his idol. Samaria’s king shall perish like a twig on the face of the waters. The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars, and they shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,” and to the hills, “Fall on us.”