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For now they will say:
    “We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord,
    and a king—what could he do for us?”
They utter mere words;
    with empty oaths they make covenants;
so litigation springs up like poisonous weeds
    in the furrows of the field.
The inhabitants of Samaria tremble
    for the calf[a] of Beth-aven.
Its people shall mourn for it,
    and its idolatrous priests shall wail[b] over it,
    over its glory that has departed from it.

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 10:5 Gk Syr: Heb calves
  2. Hosea 10:5 Cn: Heb exult

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?”
They make many promises,
    take false oaths(A)
    and make agreements;(B)
therefore lawsuits spring up
    like poisonous weeds(C) in a plowed field.
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)

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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).