Hosea 10

1 “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.

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.

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

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.

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

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?

4 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.

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

5 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,

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.

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

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.

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

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

8 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.

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.

9 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.

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.

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

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.

11 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.

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.

12 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.

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.

13 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.

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.

14 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.

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.

15 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!”

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