Osee 10

1 Israel is a vine with goodly branches, her fruit is abundant: according to the multitude of her fruits she has multiplied [her] altars; according to the wealth of his land, he has set up pillars.

Israel is a leafy vine, its fruit has been suitable to him. According to the multitude of his fruit, he has multiplied altars; according to the fertility of his land, he has abounded with graven images.

2 They have divided their hearts; now shall they be utterly destroyed: he shall dig down their altars, their pillars shall mourn.

His heart has been divided, so now they will cross the divide. He will break apart their images; he will plunder their sanctuaries.

3 Because now they shall say, We have no king, because we feared not the Lord:

For now they will say, “We have no king. For we do not fear the Lord. And what would a king do for us?”

4 and what should a king do for us, speaking false professions [as his] words? he will make a covenant: judgment shall spring up as a weed on the soil of the field.

You speak words about a useless vision, and you will strike a deal. And judgment will spring up like bitterness in the furrows of the field.

5 The inhabitants of Samaria shall dwell near the calf of the house of On; for the people of it mourned for it: and as they provoked him, they shall rejoice at his glory, because he has departed from them.

The inhabitants of Samaria have worshipped the calf of Bethaven. For the keepers of its temple, who had exulted over it in its glory, and its people, have mourned over it because it migrated from there.

6 And having bound it for the Assyrians, they carried it away as presents to king Jarim: Ephraim shall receive a gift, and Israel shall be ashamed of his counsel.

If, indeed, it also has been offered to Assur, as a gift for the Avenging king, confusion will seize Ephraim, and Israel will be confounded by his own will.

7 Samaria has cast off her king as a twig on the surface of the water.

Samaria has required her king to pass by, like foam on the face of the water.

8 And the altars of On, the sins of Israel, shall be taken away: thorns and thistles shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.

And the heights of the idol, the sin of Israel, will be utterly destroyed. The burr and the thistle will rise up over their altars. And they will say to the mountains, ‘Cover us,’ and to the hills, ‘Fall on us.’

9 From the time the hills [existed] Israel has sinned: there they stood: war [waged] against the children of iniquity

From the days of Gibeah, Israel has sinned; in this, they remained firm. The battle in Gibeah against the sons of iniquity will not take hold of them.

10 to chastise them shall not overtake them on the hill, the nations shall be gathered against them, when they are chastened for their two sins,

According to my desire, I will correct them. And the peoples will be gathered together over them, while they are chastised for their two iniquities.

11 Ephraim is a heifer taught to love victory, but I will come upon the fair part of her neck: I will mount Ephraim; I will pass over Juda in silence; Jacob shall prevail against him.

Ephraim is a heifer that has been taught to love treading out the grain, but I passed over the beauty of her neck. I will rise over Ephraim. Judah will plough; Jacob will break up the soil for himself.

12 Sow to yourselves for righteousness, gather in for the fruit of life: light you for yourselves the light of knowledge; seek the Lord till the fruits of righteousness come upon you.

Sow for yourselves in justice, and harvest in the mouth of mercy; renew your fallow land. But the time when you will seek the Lord is the time when he will arrive who will teach you justice.

13 Therefore have you passed over ungodliness in silence, and reaped the sins of it? you have eaten false fruit; for you has trusted in your sins, in the abundance of your power.

You have ploughed impiety; you have harvested iniquity; you have eaten the fruit of lies. For you had confidence in your ways, in the multitude of your good fortunes.

14 Therefore shall destruction rise up among your people, and all your strong places shall be ruined: as a prince Solomon [departed] out of the house of Jeroboam, in the days of battle they dashed the mother to the ground upon the children,

A tumult will arise among your people. And all your fortifications will be laid waste, just as Salman was destroyed by the house of him that judged Baal on the day of the battle, the mother having been crushed against her sons.

15 thus will I do to you, O house of Israel, because of the unrighteousness of your sins.

So has Bethel done to you, before the face of your malicious wickedness.