10:1 Israel is a luxuriant vine;
He produces fruit for himself.
The more his fruit,
The more altars he made;
The ①richer his land,
The better ②he made the memorial stones.
▷ ①Lit better ②Lit they
10:2 Their heart is ①deceitful;
Now they must suffer for their guilt.
②The LORD will break down their altars
And destroy their memorial stones.
▷ ①Lit slippery; or divided ②Lit He
10:3 Certainly now they will say, “We have no king,
For we do not revere the LORD.
As for the king, what can he do for us?”
10:4 They speak mere words,
①With worthless oaths they make covenants;
And judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
▷ ①Or Swearing falsely in making a covenant
10:5 The inhabitants of Samaria will fear
For the ①calf of Beth-aven.
Indeed, its people will mourn for it,
And its idolatrous priests ②will cry out over it,
Over its glory, since it has left it.
▷ ①As in some ancient versions; MT calves ②Or who used to rejoice over
10:6 The thing itself will be brought to Assyria
As a gift of tribute to ①King Jareb;
Ephraim will ②be seized with shame,
And Israel will be ashamed of its own plan.
▷ ①Another reading is the great king; or the contentious king ②Lit receive shame
10:7 Samaria will be destroyed with her king,
Like a twig on the surface of the water.
10:8 Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed;
Thorns and thistles will grow on their altars;
Then they will say to the mountains,
“Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
10:9 Since the days of Gibeah you have sinned, Israel;
There they stand!
Will the battle against the sons of injustice not overtake them in Gibeah?
10:10 When it is My desire, I will ①discipline them;
And the peoples will be gathered against them
When they are bound for their double guilt.
▷ ①Or instruct
10:11 Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh,
①And I passed over her lovely neck;
I will harness Ephraim,
Judah will plow, Jacob will ②harrow for himself.
▷ ①Or But I put a yoke on her lovely ②I.e., pull a harrow, a farming device
10:12 Sow for yourselves, with a view to righteousness;
Harvest in accordance with ①kindness.
Break up your uncultivated ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD
Until He comes and rains righteousness on you.
▷ ①Or loyalty
10:13 You have plowed wickedness, you have harvested injustice,
You have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your way, in your many warriors,
10:14 An uproar will arise among your people,
And all your fortresses will be destroyed,
As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,
When mothers were ①slaughtered with their children.
▷ ①Lit shattered
10:15 So it will be done to you at Bethel because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.