The people who live in Samaria fear
    for the calf-idol(A) of Beth Aven.[a](B)
Its people will mourn over it,
    and so will its idolatrous priests,(C)
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
    because it is taken from them into exile.(D)
It will be carried to Assyria(E)
    as tribute(F) for the great king.(G)
Ephraim will be disgraced;(H)
    Israel will be ashamed(I) of its foreign alliances.
Samaria’s king will be destroyed,(J)
    swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
The high places(K) of wickedness[b](L) will be destroyed—
    it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns(M) and thistles will grow up
    and cover their altars.(N)
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”(O)
    and to the hills, “Fall on us!”(P)

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 10:5 Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
  2. Hosea 10:8 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see verse 5.

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