Amplified Bible
Hosea 10:8
8Also the high places of Aven (Beth-aven), the sin of Israel, will be destroyed; The thorn and the thistle will grow on their [pagan] altars, And [in despair] they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Hosea 10:8 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.
- New International Version (NIV)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!”
- English Standard Version (ESV)The high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed. Thorn and thistle shall grow up on their altars, and they shall say to the mountains, "Cover us," and to the hills, "Fall on us."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, Shall be destroyed. The thorn and thistle shall grow on their altars; They shall say to the mountains, “Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
Context of Hosea 10:8
6The golden calf itself will be carried to Assyria As tribute to King Jareb; Ephraim will be seized with shame And Israel will be ashamed of his own counsel [to worship the calf and separate Israel from Judah]. 7As for Samaria, her king will be cut off and float away Like a twig on the surface of the water. Also the high places of Aven (Beth-aven), the sin of Israel, will be destroyed; The thorn and the thistle will grow on their [pagan] altars, And [in despair] they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!” 9O Israel, you have [willfully] sinned since the days of Gibeah; There they (Israel) stand! Will not the battle against the sons of wickedness overtake them at Gibeah? 10When it is my desire [to defend My righteousness], I will chastise them; And [hostile] peoples will be gathered against them When they are bound and punished for their double guilt [their revolt against the Lord and their worship of idols].
Read all of Hosea 10Hosea 10:8 word by word
וְנִשְׁמְד֞וּ בָּמ֣וֹת אָ֗וֶן חַטַּאת֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל ק֣וֹץ וְדַרְדַּ֔ר יַעֲלֶ֖ה עַל־מִזְבְּחוֹתָ֑ם וְאָמְר֤וּ לֶֽהָרִים֙ כַּסּ֔וּנוּ וְלַגְּבָע֖וֹת נִפְל֥וּ עָלֵֽינוּ׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- The high placesבָּמָהbâmâh · high placeH1116
- also of Avenאָ֫וֶן'âven · AvenH206
- the sinחַטָּאתchaţţâ'âh chaţţâ'th · sinH2403
- of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- shall be destroyedשָׁמַדshâmad · to destroyH8045
- the thornקוֹץqôts qôts · thornH6975
- and the thistleדַּרְדַּרdardar · thistleH1863
- shall come upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
- on their altarsמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
- and they shall sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- to the mountainsהַרhar · mountain: mountH2022
- Coverכָּסָהkâsâh · to coverH3680
- us; and to the hillsגִּבְעָהgib‛âh · hillH1389
- Fallנָפַלnâphal · to fall: fallH5307
Cross-references for Hosea 10:8
- Hosea 10:5The people of Samaria will fear and tremble For the [idolatrous] calf of Beth-aven (House of Wickedness). Indeed, its people will mourn over it And its idolatrous priests will cry out and wail over it, Over its glory, because the glory [of their calf god] has departed from it.
- Hosea 4:15Though you, Israel, play the prostitute [by worshiping idols], Do not let Judah become guilty [of the same thing]; And do not go to Gilgal [where idols are worshiped], Or go up to Beth-aven (House of Wickedness), Nor swear [oaths in idolatrous worship, saying], “As the Lord lives!”
- Hosea 5:8Blow the horn in Gibeah, The trumpet in Ramah [the lofty hills on Benjamin’s northern border]. Sound the alarm at Beth-aven: “Behind you and coming after you [is the enemy], O Benjamin [be on guard]!”
- Deuteronomy 9:21I took your sinful thing, the calf which you had made, and burned it in the fire and thoroughly crushed it, grinding the metal thoroughly until it was as fine as dust; and I threw its dust into the brook that came down from the mountain.
- 1 Kings 12:28So the king took counsel [and followed bad advice] and made two calves of gold. And he said to the people, “It is too much for you to go [all the way] up to Jerusalem; behold your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.”
- 1 Kings 13:34And this thing (idol worship) became the sin of the house of Jeroboam to blot it out and eliminate it from the face of the earth.
- 1 Kings 14:16He will give up Israel because of the sins of Jeroboam which he has committed, and with which he has made Israel sin [by leading them into idolatry].”
- Amos 8:14Those who swear [their oaths] by the sin (guilt) of Samaria or Ashimah (a pagan goddess), Who say, ‘By the life of your god [the golden calf], O Dan!’ And [swear], ‘By the life of the way of [idolatrous] Beersheba,’ They shall fall and not rise again.”
- Micah 1:5All this is because of the rebellion and apostasy of Jacob And for the sins of the house of Israel (the Northern Kingdom). What is the rebellion and apostasy of Jacob? Is it not [the abandonment of God in order to worship the idols of] Samaria? What are the high places [of idolatry] in Judah (the Southern Kingdom)? Are they not Jerusalem [the capital and center of corruption]?
- Hosea 9:6For behold, they will go away because of devastation and destruction; Egypt will gather them up, Memphis will bury them. Weeds will take over their treasures of silver; Thorns will grow in their tents.
- Isaiah 32:13For the land of my people growing over with thorns and briars— Yes, [mourn] for all the houses of joy in the joyous city.
- Isaiah 34:13Thorns will come up in its fortified palaces, Nettles and brambles in its fortified cities; It will be a haunt for jackals, An abode for ostriches.
- 1 Kings 13:2The man cried out against the [idolatrous] altar by the word of the Lord, “O altar, altar, thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, a son shall be born to the house of David, Josiah by name; and on you shall he sacrifice [the bodies of] the priests of the high places who burn incense on you, and human bones shall be burned on you.’ ”
- 2 Kings 23:15Further, the altar that was at Bethel, the high place which Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel sin, had made, even that altar and the high place he tore down. Then he demolished its stones, ground them to dust, and burned the Asherah.
- 2 Chronicles 31:1Now when all of this was finished, all Israel who were present went out to the cities of Judah, and smashed the [pagan] pillars (obelisks, memorial stones) in pieces, cut down the Asherim (wooden symbols of a female deity), and tore down the high places and the altars [of idolatry] throughout all Judah and Benjamin, as well as in Ephraim and Manasseh, until they had destroyed them all. Then all the sons (descendants) of Israel returned to their own cities, each to his own property.
- 2 Chronicles 34:5Then Josiah burned the bones of the [pagan] priests on their altars and purged and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem.
Commentaries on Hosea 10:8
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 8The high-places - Idol temples. Of Aven - Beth-aven. The thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars - Owing to the uncultivated and unfrequented state of the land, and of their places of idol worship, the people being all carried away into captivity. "And they shall say to the mountains, Cover us, And to the hills, Fall on us." "This sublime description of fear and distress our Lord had in view, Luke 23:30, which may be a reference, and not a…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 8The high places of Aven - that is, of vanity or iniquity. He had before called “Bethel, house of God,” by the name of “Bethaven, house of vanity;” now he calls it “Aven, vanity” or “iniquity,” as being the concentration of those qualities. Bethel was situated on a “hill,” the “mount of Bethel,” and, from different sides, people were said to “go up” (Joshua 16:1; 1 Samuel 13:2; above Hosea 4:13; Genesis 35:1; Judges 1:22; 1 Samuel 10:3; 2 Kings 2:23) to…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8The Israelites who survived the disaster would only be able to cry out to the mountains and hills, Cover us! … Fall on us!Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 88. Aven--that is, Beth-aven. the sin--that is, the occasion of sin (De 9:21; 1Ki 12:30). they shall say to ... mountains, Cover us--So terrible shall be the calamity, that men shall prefer death to life (Lu 23:30; Re 6:16; 9:6). Those very hills on which were their idolatrous altars (one source of their confidence, as their "king," Ho 10:7, was the other), so far from helping them, shall be called on by them to overwhelm them.Read the comment
Topics related to Hosea 10:8
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Hosea 10
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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