Hosea 10
1 Israel is a luxuriant vine that produces his fruit. As his fruit increased, the more altars he built. As his land produced more, he improved his pillars.
“Israel was [like a large] healthy/luxuriant vine [MET] that produced [a lot of] grapes. But as the people became richer, they made more altars [at which to worship idols]. As the people prospered, they [built and] decorated sacred pillars [that they worshiped].
2 Their heart is deceitful; now they must bear their guilt. Yahweh will demolish their altars; he will destroy their pillars.
They are deceitful; [so] now they are guilty and must be punished. [I], Yahweh, will tear down their altars and smash those pillars.
3 For then they will say, “We have no king, for we did not fear Yahweh, and a king—what could he do for us?”
Then they will say, ‘It is because we did not revere Yahweh that we no [longer] have a king. But [even if we had] a king, he certainly could not [RHQ] do anything to help us.’
4 They speak empty words and make covenants by swearing falsely. So justice springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.
They falsely promise [that they will do many things]; they solemnly promise and make agreements, but they do not do what they promise. So people accuse and sue [each other in the courts]; they are like [SIM] poisonous weeds [that grow] in a plowed field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria will be afraid because of the calves of Beth Aven. Its people mourned over them, as did those idolatrous priests who had rejoiced over them and their splendor, but they are no longer there.
The people who live in Samaria [city] are worried about [what may happen to the idol that resembles] a calf [that they set up] at Beth-Aven [town]. The people in Samaria will mourn, and the priests there will cry about it [if it is damaged or destroyed]. [Previously] they shouted joyfully about its being very great; but now it will not be great any more.
6 They will be carried to Assyria as a present for the great king. Ephraim will be disgraced, and Israel will be ashamed of its idol.
It will be taken to Assyria to be a gift for the great King [of Assyria]. [So the people of] Israel will be disgraced, and they will be ashamed because [they trusted in] that idol.
7 Samaria's king will be destroyed, like a chip of wood on the surface of the water.
The King of Samaria [and the other people in Samaria] will be gone; they will be like [SIM] a twig [that floats away] on the surface of the water [and disappears].
8 The high places of wickedness will be destroyed. This is the sin of Israel! Thorns and thistles will grow over their altars. The people will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
The altars on the tops of hills [where the people worshiped idols] will be destroyed; those have been the places where the people of Israel sinned greatly. Thorns and weeds will grow and cover those altars. Then the people will plead to the mountains and hills, ‘Fall [down and] cover us [to protect us from God punishing us]!’
9 “Israel, you have sinned since the days of Gibeah; there you have remained. Will not war overtake the sons of wrong in Gibeah?
[You people of] Israel, [ever since your ancestors did evil things] at Gibeah, you have continued to sin. [When the people at] [PRS] Gibeah [did evil things], the result was a war [in which thousands of people died].
10 When I desire it, I will discipline them. The nations will gather together against them and put them in bonds for their double iniquity.
[So now], when I want to, I will punish the Israeli people. Because of the many sins that they have committed, [the armies of other] nations will gather to attack them, and they will cause the Israeli people to become their slaves.
11 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh the grain, so I will put a yoke on her fair neck. I will put a yoke on Ephraim; Judah will plow; Jacob will pull the harrow by himself.
Israel is [like] [MET] a well-trained (heifer/young cow) that likes to thresh [grain]. [So now you will become slaves]. [It will be as though] I will put a yoke on your neck, and you will be forced to work hard for your enemies in their fields. [You people of] Israel and Judah [will be forced to go to Assyria]; there you [DOU] will pull plows to break up the ground [for planting seeds].
12 Sow righteousness for yourselves, and reap the fruit of covenant faithfulness. Break up your unplowed ground, for it is time to seek Yahweh, until he comes and rains righteousness on you.
[You plow your fields and plant your seeds] and harvest [your crops] [MET], [but what you need to do is] to act righteously and to faithfully love [me]; you need to repent [MET], because it is time to try to know [me], Yahweh; and if you do that, I will pour out [MET] many blessings on you.
13 You have plowed wickedness; you reaped injustice. You have eaten the fruit of deception because you trusted in your plans and in your many soldiers.
You [plant seeds and harvest the crops and eat them]; [but what I consider that you have really done is] that you have planted wicked things and harvested evil things and eaten [MET] the results [IDM] of the lies [that you have told]. [Instead of trusting in me, ] you have (depended on/trusted in) your own power and in your many soldiers.
14 So a tumult of war will rise among your people, and all your fortified cities will be destroyed. It will be as Shalman destroyed Beth Arbel on a day of battle, when mothers were dashed to pieces with their children.
As a result, you will [soon] hear the roar of battle, and all your cities that have walls around them will be destroyed, like [SIM] Shalman’s [army] destroyed Beth-Arbel [city] in a battle, and the women [in that city] and their children were bashed to death.
15 So it will happen to you, Bethel, because of your great wickedness. At daybreak the king of Israel will be completely cut off.”
[You people of] [APO] Bethel [city], that is what will happen to you, because you are very wicked. And when the sun rises [on that day], the King of Israel will be killed [in the battle].”
