Hosea 10:3-5

New International Reader's Version

³ Then they’ll say, “We don’t have a king.
    That’s because we didn’t have
    any respect for the Lord.
But suppose we did have a king.
    What could he do for us?”
⁴ They make a lot of promises.
    They make agreements among themselves.
    They make promises they don’t mean to keep.
So court cases spring up
    like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.
⁵ The people who live in Samaria are filled with fear.
    They are afraid for their god that looks like a calf.
    They’re afraid it will be carried off from Beth Aven, that evil town.
They will mourn over it.
    So will the priests who led them to worship it.
The priests were full of joy
    because their statue was so glorious.
But it will be captured
    and taken far away from them.