Hosea 10 :: Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

Their hearts are devious;[fn]

now they must bear their guilt.

The LORD will break down their altars

and demolish their sacred pillars.

In fact, they are now saying,

“We have no king!

For we do not fear the LORD.

What can a king do for us? ”

They speak mere words,

taking false oaths while making covenants.

So lawsuits break out

like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.

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 go into exile.

The calf itself will be taken to Assyria

as an offering to the great king.[fn]

Ephraim will experience shame;

Israel will be ashamed of its counsel.

Samaria’s king will disappear[fn]

like foam[fn] on the surface of the water.

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! ”

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?

I will discipline them at my discretion;

nations will be gathered against them

to put them in bondage[fn]

for their double iniquity.

Ephraim is a well-trained calf

that loves to thresh,

but I will place a yoke on[fn] her fine neck.

I will harness Ephraim;

Judah will plow;

Jacob will do the final plowing.

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.

You have plowed wickedness and reaped injustice;

you have eaten the fruit of lies.

Because you have trusted in your own way[fn]

and in your large number of soldiers,

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.

So it will be done to you, Bethel,

because of your extreme evil.

At dawn the king of Israel will be totally destroyed.