Hosea 10

1 Israel is a branching vine, full of fruit; as his fruit is increased, so the number of his altars is increased; as the land is fair, so they have made fair pillars.

A luxuriant vine, is Israel, fruit, beseemeth him, —According to the abundance of his fruit, hath he brought abundance to the altars, according to the goodliness of his land, hath he made goodly statues.

2 Their mind is taken away; now they will be made waste: he will have their altars broken down, he will give their pillars to destruction.

Hypocritical is their heart, Now, shall they be held guilty, —He, will break down their altars, he will destroy their statutes.

3 Now, truly, they will say, We have no king, we have no fear of the Lord; and the king, what is he able to do for us?

For, now, will they say, We have no king, —for we revere not Yahweh, and what could, a king, do for us?

4 Their words are foolish; they make agreements with false oaths, so punishment will come up like a poison-plant in a ploughed field.

They have spoken words, swearing falsely, in solemnizing a covenant, —therefore shall judgment, spring up like a poisonous plant, on the ridges of the field.

5 The people of Samaria will be full of fear because of the ox of Beth-aven; its people will have sorrow for it, and its priests will give cries of grief for its glory, for the glory has gone in flight.

About the calves of Beth-aven, will the inhabitant of Samaria be concerned, —for the people thereof, have mourned over it, and, the ascetics thereof, who, over it, used to exult, [shall mourn] for the glory thereof, because it hath departed therefrom.

6 And they will take it to Assyria and give it to the great king; shame will come on Ephraim, and Israel will be shamed because of its image.

Itself also, to Assyria, shall be borne along, as a present to a hostile king, —shame, shall Ephraim receive, that Israel, may be ashamed, of his own counsel.

7 As for Samaria, her king is cut off, like mist on the water.

Silenced is Samaria: her king, is as a chip on the face of the waters,

8 And the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will come to destruction; thorns and waste plants will come up on their altars; they will say to the mountains, Be a cover over us; and to the hills, Come down on us.

So shall the high places of Aven, be destroyed, the sin of Israel, Thorn and prickle, shall come up on their altars, —Therefore shall they say to the mountains, Cover us, and to the hills, Fall on us.

9 O Israel, you have done evil from the days of Gibeah; there they took up their position, so that the fighting against the children of evil might not overtake them in Gibeah.

Beyond the days of Gibeah, hast thou sinned, O Israel: there, came they to a stand, the battle against the sons of perversity, touched them not in Gibeah.

10 I will come and give them punishment; and the peoples will come together against them when I give them the reward of their two sins.

When I please, then will I chastise them, —and there shall be gathered together against them—peoples, they being harnessed to their two Iniquities;

11 And Ephraim is a trained cow, taking pleasure in crushing the grain; but I have put a yoke on her fair neck; I will put a horseman on the back of Ephraim; Judah will be working the plough, Jacob will be turning up the earth.

But, Ephraim, shall be a heifer broken in, loving to tread out corn, when, I, have passed over upon her fair neck, —I will drive Ephraim, Judah, shall plow, Jacob, shall harrow to him.

12 Put in the seed of righteousness, get in your grain in mercy, let your unploughed earth be turned up: for it is time to make search for the Lord, till he comes and sends righteousness on you like rain.

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap ye at the bidding of lovingkindness, furrow to yourselves the newly-ploughed soil, —then will be the time to seek Yahweh, until he come, that he may rain down righteousness for you.

13 You have been ploughing sin, you have got in a store of evil, the fruit of deceit has been your food: for you put faith in your way, in the number of your men of war.

Ye have plowed lawlessness, perversity, have ye reaped, ye have eaten the fruit of deception, —because thou didst trust in thy chariots, in the multitude of thy mighty men.

14 So a great outcry will go up from among your people, and all your strong places will be broken, as Beth-arbel was broken by Shalman in the day of war, as the mother was broken on the rocks with her children.

Therefore shall there arise a tumult among thy peoples, and, all thy fortresses, shall be plundered, as Shalman plundered Beth-arbel, in the day of battle, —the mother, upon her children, dashed to the ground.

15 So will Beth-el do to you because of your evil-doing; at dawn will the king of Israel be cut off completely.

Even so, hath Bethel, done to you, because of your exceeding wickedness, —in the dawn, shall the king of Israel be, utterly silenced.