The Book of HOSEA - Chapter Ten

1  

Israel was a spreading vine;
    he brought forth fruit for himself.
As his fruit increased,
    he built more altars;
as his land prospered,
    he adorned his sacred stones.

2 

Their heart is deceitful,
    and now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will demolish their altars
    and destroy their sacred stones.

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
    and make agreements;
therefore lawsuits spring up
    like poisonous weeds in a ploughed field.

5 

The people who live in Samaria fear
    for the calf-idol of Beth Aven.
Its people will mourn over it,
    and so will its idolatrous priests,
those who had rejoiced over its splendour,
    because it is taken from them into exile.

6 

It will be carried to Assyria
    as tribute for the great king.
Ephraim will be disgraced;
    Israel will be ashamed of its foreign alliances.

7 

Samaria’s king will be destroyed,
    swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.

8 

The high places of wickedness will be destroyed –
    it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns and thistles will grow up
    and cover their altars.
Then they will say to the mountains, ‘Cover us!’
    and to the hills, ‘Fall on us!’

9 

‘Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel,
    and there you have remained.
Will not war again overtake
    the evildoers in Gibeah?

10 

When I please, I will punish them;
    nations will be gathered against them
    to put them in bonds for their double sin.

11 

Ephraim is a trained heifer
    that loves to thresh;
so I will put a yoke
    on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
    Judah must plough,
    and Jacob must break up the ground.

12 

Sow righteousness for yourselves,
    reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unploughed ground;
    for it is time to seek the Lord,
until he comes
    and showers his righteousness on you.

13 

But you have planted wickedness,
    you have reaped evil,
    you have eaten the fruit of deception.
Because you have depended on your own strength
    and on your many warriors,

14 

the roar of battle will rise against your people,
    so that all your fortresses will be devastated –
as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
    when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.

15 

So will it happen to you, Bethel,
    because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
    the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.

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The Book of HOSEA

Chapter Ten

Read by Sir David Suchet

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