Their heart is deceitful,(A)
    and now they must bear their guilt.(B)
The Lord will demolish their altars(C)
    and destroy their sacred stones.(D)

Then they will say, “We have no king
    because we did not revere the Lord.
But even if we had a king,
    what could he do for us?”
They make many promises,
    take false oaths(E)
    and make agreements;(F)
therefore lawsuits spring up
    like poisonous weeds(G) in a plowed field.
The people who live in Samaria fear
    for the calf-idol(H) of Beth Aven.[a](I)
Its people will mourn over it,
    and so will its idolatrous priests,(J)
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
    because it is taken from them into exile.(K)
It will be carried to Assyria(L)
    as tribute(M) for the great king.(N)
Ephraim will be disgraced;(O)
    Israel will be ashamed(P) of its foreign alliances.

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 10:5 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).

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