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.

'An empty vine [is] Israel, Fruit he maketh like to himself, According to the abundance of his fruit, He hath multiplied for the altars, According to the goodness of his land, They have made goodly standing-pillars.

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

Their heart hath been divided, now they are guilty, He doth break down their altars, He doth destroy their standing-pillars.

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

For now they say: We have no king, Because we have not feared Jehovah, And the king — what doth he 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.

They have spoken words, To swear falsehood in making a covenant, And flourished as a poisonous herb hath judgment, on the furrows of a 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.

For the calves of Beth-Aven fear do inhabitants of Samaria, Surely mourned on account of it hath its people, And its priests on account of it leap about, Because of its honour, for it hath removed from it,

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.

Also it to Asshur is carried, a present to a warlike king, Shame doth Ephraim receive, And ashamed is Israel of its own counsel.

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

Cut off is Samaria! Its king [is] as a chip on the face of the waters.

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 destroyed have been high places of Aven, the sin of Israel. Thorn and bramble go up on their altars, And they have said to hills, Cover us, And to heights, Fall upon 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 thou hast sinned, O Israel, There they have stood, Not overtake them in Gibeah doth battle, Because of sons of perverseness.

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,

When I desire, then I do bind them, And gathered against them have peoples, When they bind themselves to 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.

And Ephraim [is] a trained heifer — loving to thresh, And I — I have passed over on the goodness of its neck, I cause [one] to ride Ephraim, Plough doth Judah, harrow for him doth Jacob.

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 righteousness, Reap according to loving-kindness, Till for yourselves tillage of knowledge, To seek Jehovah, Till he come and shew righteousness to you.

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.

Ye have ploughed wickedness, Perversity ye have reaped, Ye have eaten the fruit of lying, For thou hast trusted in thy way, In the abundance of thy might.

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,

And rise doth a tumult among thy people, And all thy fortresses are spoiled, As the spoiling of Shalman of Beth-Arbel, In a day of battle, Mother against sons dashed in pieces.

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

Thus hath Beth-El done to you, Because of the evil of your wickedness, In the dawn cut off utterly is a king of Israel!