Hosea 10

International Standard Version

10 “Israel, the overgrown^[a] vine, bears fruit like itself;
the more fruitful they become,
        the more altars they build.
The better the land,
    the more ornate the stone idols.^[b]
2 Their hearts are divided;
    from now on they are to be found guilty.
God^[c] will tear down their altars,
    he will destroy their stone idols.^[d]
3 From now on they will say,
    ‘We have no king,
        because we did not fear the Lord—
    and what would a king do for us?’
⁴ Their word is falsely given
    as they make their agreements;^[e]
so judgment springs up
    like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.^[f]

¹¹ “Ephraim, the well-trained heifer,
    loves to thresh grain,
so I will spare her neck.
    I will turn Ephraim into a pack animal.
Judah will pull the plow,
    and Jacob will turn up the fallow ground.
¹² Sow in righteousness in your own interest,
    reap in gracious love,
        break up your own unprepared ground;
It is now time to inquire of^[m] the Lord,
    until he comes to pour out righteousness for you.
¹³ You have plowed^[n] evil;
    you have reaped unrighteousness;
        you have eaten the fruit of hypocrisy;
because you trusted in your own direction,
    and in the number of your mighty forces.
¹⁴ Therefore a disaster will come upon your people,
    and all of your fortresses will be ruined.
As Shalman^[o] destroyed Beth-arbel in wartime,
    mothers were^[p] dashed to pieces
        along with their children.
¹⁵ The same will happen to you, Bethel,
    because of your great evil—
        early one morning the king of Israel will be totally silenced.”