Hosea 10:8

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

6Assyria's army will carry the idol away. It will be a gift to give honour to Assyria's great king. Ephraim's people will feel ashamed. They will be sorry that they trusted in their wooden idol. 7The people of Samaria and their king will come to an end. They will be like a small stick that water carries away. The wicked altars on the hills will break into pieces. These are places where Israel's people have done bad things. Thorn bushes and weeds will grow all over their altars. Then the people will say to the mountains, ‘Hide us!’ They will say to the hills, ‘Fall on us!’ 9The Lord says, ‘People of Israel, you have continued to do bad things, since the time that you were at Gibeah. When the people did evil things at Gibeah, war destroyed them as a result. 10When I decide that the time is right, I will punish the Israelites. Because of their many sins, I will bring other nations to attack them. Their enemies will tie them up with chains.

Hosea 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 who live in Samaria will be afraid. They will worry about their image of a calf at Beth Aven. They will weep because it will go away from them. The priests who serve the idol will cry too. They know that an enemy will take away their great and beautiful idol.
• Hosea 4:15You people of Israel are not faithful to the Lord. But do not let the people of Judah become guilty of the same sins. Do not travel to Gilgal to worship! Do not go to Beth Aven! Do not say, ‘I promise this is true, as surely as the Lord lives’.
• Hosea 5:8‘Make a noise with your horns in Gibeah! Make a noise with your trumpets in Ramah! Warn the people in Beth Aven of danger! Men of Benjamin's tribe, prepare to fight!
• Deuteronomy 9:21When you made that idol, it was a sin that you did. So I took that gold calf and I burned it in the fire. Then I beat it into powder, like dust. I threw the powder into a stream that ran down from the mountain.
• 1 Kings 12:28So King Jeroboam talked to his advisors. He used gold to make images of two young cows. He said to the people, ‘It is too difficult for you to go to Jerusalem to worship the Lord, as you have done before. So I have made these gold cows for you instead. Look at them, Israelite people! These are your gods that rescued you and brought you out from Egypt.’
• 1 Kings 13:34This sin caused Jeroboam's family to disappear from the earth. He would no longer have descendants to rule the kingdom.
• 1 Kings 14:16He will put Israel under the power of its enemies because of Jeroboam's sins. Jeroboam also caused Israel's people to do bad things.’
• Amos 8:14They worship Samaria's idols. They use the names of those false gods to make promises. They say, “In the name of the god of Dan,” or “In the name of the god of Beersheba.” Those people will fall down and they will never get up again.’
• Micah 1:5All these bad things will happen because Jacob's people have refused to obey God. These things will happen because Israel's people have done wrong things. You may ask who has caused this. It is the leaders in your capital cities, Samaria and Jerusalem. They have kept the high places there for people to offer gifts to false gods.
• Hosea 9:6Listen! Perhaps some Israelites will escape when Assyria's army attacks. But then Egypt's army will take hold of them. They will die in Memphis and people will bury them there. Weeds will grow all over their valuable silver things. Thorn bushes will grow in their homes.
• Isaiah 32:13Weep because of what has happened to my people's land. Only thorn bushes and weeds grow there. Weep because there are no longer any happy homes. There are no more parties in the city.
• Isaiah 34:13Thorn bushes will grow over its palaces. Bushes and weeds will grow over its strong cities. Jackals and ostriches will make their homes in the land.
• 1 Kings 13:2When he arrived at Bethel, he shouted the message that the Lord had given to him. He said, ‘Altar! Altar! This is what the Lord says to you: “Listen! One day, a son will be born in David's family. His name will be Josiah. On this altar, he will burn as sacrifices the priests who offer sacrifices on the hills. He will burn the bones of dead people on you!” ’
• 2 Kings 23:15Josiah also destroyed the altar at Bethel. It was an altar for false gods that Nebat's son, King Jeroboam had made. King Jeroboam had caused the people of Israel to do bad things. Josiah completely destroyed that altar. He broke its stones into small pieces so that only dust remained. He also burned the Asherah pole.
• 2 Chronicles 31:1The Passover festival finished. Then the Israelites who were there went to all the towns in Judah. They knocked down the stone pillars that people worshipped. They also cut down the Asherah poles. They destroyed all the altars and places for worship on the hills. They did that everywhere in Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim and Manasseh. After they finished, all the Israelites returned to their homes in their own towns.
• 2 Chronicles 34:5Josiah took the bones of the priests who had made sacrifices to the false gods. He burned the priests' bones on their own altars. That is how Josiah made Judah and Jerusalem clean again.

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

• Aven
• Despondency
• Quotations and Allusions
• Thistle
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Ashamed
• Bethel
• Hosea, Prophecies of
• Plow
• Reap
• Thistle
• Thorn

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