Hosea 10

1 An emptied vine is Israel; how should he bring forth fruit for himself? the more numerous was his fruit the more he increased the altars; the more prosperous was his land, the more they made goodly statues.

“Israel [is] an empty vine, He makes fruit like to himself, According to the abundance of his fruit, He has multiplied for the altars, According to the goodness of his land, They have made good standing-pillars.

2 Their heart is divided; now shall they bear their guilt: this will break down their altars, will devastate their statues.

Their heart has been divided, now they are guilty, He breaks down their altars, He destroys their standing-pillars.

3 For now will they say, We have no king; because we fear not the Lord: and the king—what can he do for us?

For now they say: We have no king, Because we have not feared YHWH, And the king—what does he do for us?

4 They have spoken [vain] words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: therefore springeth up the punishment as poison in the furrows of the field.

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

5 For the calves of Beth-aven are terrified the inhabitants of Samaria: yea, the people thereof mourn over them, and also its false priests that [before] rejoiced over them, for its glory, because it is departed from it.

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

6 Also this shall be carried unto Assyria for a present to the contentious king: Ephraim shall receive shame, and Israel shall be ashamed because of his own counsel.

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

7 As for Samaria, her king shall vanish like the foam upon the surface of the water.

Samaria is cut off! Its king [is] as wrath on the face of the waters.

8 And destroyed shall be the high-places of Aven, [the cause of] the sin of Israel; the thorn and the thistle shall grow upon their altars: and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall upon us.

And high places of Aven have been destroyed, the sin of Israel. Thorn and bramble go up on their altars, And they have said to hills, Cover us, And to heights, Fall on us.

9 More than in the days of Gib'ah hast thou sinned, O Israel! there they stood; and the battle in Gib'ah against the children of wickedness did not overtake them.

From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel, There they have stood, Battle does not overtake them in Gibeah, Because of sons of perverseness.

10 [But now] after my desire will I chastise them: and the people shall be gathered against them, when they harness them [for labor] in their two furrows.

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

11 And Ephraim is as a well-taught heifer that loveth to tread out the corn; and I passed over her fair neck: now will I make Ephraim draw the wagon, Judah shall plough, and Jacob shall harrow the field for the enemy.

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

12 Sow then for yourselves after righteousness, that you may reap [the fruit] of kindness; cultivate your fallow field; for it is time to seek the Lord, till he come and rain righteousness down for you.

Sow for yourselves in righteousness, Reap according to loving-kindness, Till for yourselves tillage of knowledge, To seek YHWH, Until He comes and shows righteousness to you.

13 [But] ye have ploughed wickedness, iniquity have ye reaped, ye have eaten the fruit of lies; because thou didst trust in thy own way, in the multitude of thy mighty men:

You have plowed wickedness, Perversity you have reaped, You have eaten the fruit of lying, For you have trusted in your way, In the abundance of your might.

14 Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be wasted, as Shalman devastated Beth-arbel on the day of battle, [when] the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.

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

15 The like of this doth Beth-el procure unto you because of your great wickedness: in the early morning shall utterly pass away the king of Israel.

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