Hosea

CHAPTER 10

Destruction of Idolatrous Cultic Objects

1^a Israel is a luxuriant vine

whose fruit matches its growth.

The more abundant his fruit,

the more altars he built;

The more productive his land,

the more sacred pillars^* he set up.

2Their heart is false!

Now they will pay for their guilt:

God will break down their altars

and destroy their sacred pillars.

3For now they will say,

“We have no king!^*

Since we do not fear the LORD,

the king—what could he do for us?”

4They make promises,

swear false oaths, and make covenants,

While lawsuits sprout

like poisonous weeds^* in the furrows of a field!

5The inhabitants of Samaria are afraid

for the calf of Beth-aven;^*

Its people mourn for it

and its idolatrous priests wail over it,

—over its glory which has departed from it.^b

6It too will be carried to Assyria,

as an offering to the great king.^{* c}

Ephraim will be put to shame,

Israel will be shamed by his schemes.

7Samaria and her king will disappear,

like a twig upon the waters.

8The high places of Aven^* will be destroyed,

the sin of Israel;

thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars.

Then they will cry out to the mountains, “Cover us!”

and to the hills, “Fall upon us!”^d

War Because of Israel’s Wickedness

9Since the days of Gibeah^e

you have sinned, Israel.

There they took their stand;

will war not reach them in Gibeah?

Against a perverse people

10I came and I chastised them;

Peoples will be gathered against them

when I bind them to their two crimes.^*

11Ephraim was a trained heifer,

that loved to thresh;

I myself laid a yoke

upon her beautiful neck;

I will make Ephraim break ground, Judah must plow,

Jacob must harrow for himself:

12“Sow for yourselves justice,

reap the reward of loyalty;

Break up for yourselves a new field,^f

for it is time to seek the LORD,

till he comes and rains justice upon you.”^g

13But you have plowed wickedness,

reaped perversity,

and eaten the fruit of falsehood.

Because you have trusted in your own power,

and in your many warriors,^h

14The clamor of war shall break out among your people

and all your fortresses shall be ravaged

As Salman ravaged Beth-arbel^* on the day of war,

smashing mothers along with their children.ⁱ

15So it will be done to you, Bethel,

because of your utter wickedness:

At dawn^* the king of Israel

will utterly disappear.

* [10:1] Sacred pillars: see note on 3:4.

* [10:3] No king: the instability of the monarchy (7:3–7) and its vassalage to foreign kings (7:8–16) render the monarchy ineffective. The kings do the opposite of what they are supposed to do (10:4).

* [10:4] Lawsuits…like poisonous weeds: the administration of justice, which should have been the mainstay of the people, has in corrupt hands become another instrument of oppression; cf. Am 6:12.

* [10:5] The calf of Beth-aven: see note on 4:15.

* [10:6] The great king: a title used by the Assyrian kings. See also note on 5:13.

* [10:8] Aven: wickedness, first of all at Bethel (v. 5), but also at all the high places.

* [10:10] Two crimes: the allusion is not clear; a possible reference is the outrage described in Jgs 19.

* [10:14] As Salman ravaged Beth-arbel: perhaps Salamanu, king of Moab, mentioned in an inscription of Tiglath-pileser III, after an invasion in Gilead (Transjordan), where there was a Beth-arbel, close to present Irbid.

* [10:15] At dawn: normally the moment of God’s victory over Israel’s enemies, and thus his salvation (Is 17:14; Ps 46:6). Here it is a reversal of this expectation.

a. [10:1] Is 5:1–7.

b. [10:5] 1 Sm 4:21–22.

c. [10:6] Am 5:27.

d. [10:8] Is 2:10, 19; Lk 23:30; Rev 6:16.

e. [10:9] Jgs 19–21.

f. [10:12] Jer 4:3.

g. [10:12] Is 45:8; Jl 2:23.

h. [10:13] Is 31:1.

i. [10:14] Ps 137:9; Am 1:13.