Hosea 10:3-5
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
3 For now they will say,
“We have no king![a]
Since we do not fear the Lord,
the king—what could he do for us?”
4 They make promises,
swear false oaths, and make covenants,
While lawsuits sprout
like poisonous weeds[b] in the furrows of a field!
5 The inhabitants of Samaria are afraid
for the calf of Beth-aven;[c]
Its people mourn for it
and its idolatrous priests wail over it,
—over its glory which has departed from it.(A)
Footnotes
- 10:3 No king: the instability of the monarchy (7:3–7) and its vassalage to foreign kings (7:8–16) render the monarchy ineffective. The kings do the opposite of what they are supposed to do (10:4).
- 10:4 Lawsuits…like poisonous weeds: the administration of justice, which should have been the mainstay of the people, has in corrupt hands become another instrument of oppression; cf. Am 6:12.
- 10:5 The calf of Beth-aven: see note on 4:15.
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