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[a]For the Israelites will remain many days
    without king or prince,
Without sacrifice or sacred pillar,
    without ephod or household gods.

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Footnotes

  1. 3:4 Israel will lose its political and cultic institutions. Sacred pillar: originally perhaps a phallic symbol, representing Baal. These were also used in Israelite worship (cf. notes on Gn 28:18; Ex 34:13). Ephod: an instrument used in consulting the deity (1 Sm 23:6–12; 30:7; cf. notes on Ex 28:6, 15–30). Household gods: in Hebrew, teraphim; images regarded as the tutelary deities of the household (Gn 31:19; Jgs 17:5; 18:14, 17–18).

Chapter 10

Destruction of Idolatrous Cultic Objects

(A)Israel is a luxuriant vine
    whose fruit matches its growth.
The more abundant his fruit,
    the more altars he built;
The more productive his land,
    the more sacred pillars[a] he set up.
Their heart is false!
    Now they will pay for their guilt:
God will break down their altars
    and destroy their sacred pillars.

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Footnotes

  1. 10:1 Sacred pillars: see note on 3:4.