Hosea 10:3-5
Easy-to-Read Version
The Evil Decisions of the Israelites
3 Now the Israelites say, “We have no king. We don’t honor the Lord. And his king cannot do anything to us.”
4 They make promises, but they are only telling lies. They don’t keep their promises. They make agreements with other countries. God does not like those agreements. The judges are like poisonous weeds growing in a plowed field.
5 The people from Samaria worship the calves at Beth Aven.[a] They will cry. The priests will cry, because their beautiful idol is gone. It was carried away.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Hosea 10:5 Beth Aven A name meaning “House of Evil.” It is a wordplay on the name “Bethel,” a name meaning “House of God.” There was a temple in this town.
Hosea 10:3-5
New International Version
3 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?”
4 They make many promises,
take false oaths(A)
and make agreements;(B)
therefore lawsuits spring up
like poisonous weeds(C) in a plowed field.
5 The people who live in Samaria fear
for the calf-idol(D) of Beth Aven.[a](E)
Its people will mourn over it,
and so will its idolatrous priests,(F)
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
because it is taken from them into exile.(G)
Footnotes
- Hosea 10:5 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
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