God’s Word Translation
Hosea 10:8
8The illegal worship sites of Aven will be destroyed. Israel sins there. Thorns and weeds will grow over those altars. People 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 thing itself will be carried to Assyria as a present to the great king. Ephraim will be disgraced. Israel will be ashamed because of its plans. 7The king of Samaria will be carried away like a piece of wood on water. The illegal worship sites of Aven will be destroyed. Israel sins there. Thorns and weeds will grow over those altars. People will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!” 9Israel, you have sinned ever since the incident at Gibeah. You never change. War will overtake the wicked people in Gibeah. 10“I will punish them when I’m ready. Armies will gather to attack them. They will be punished for their many sins.
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 10:5Those who live in Samaria fear the calf-shaped idol at Beth Aven. The people will mourn over it. The priests will cry loudly because its glory will be taken away into captivity.
- Hosea 4:15“Israel, you act like a prostitute. Don’t let Judah become guilty too. Don’t go to Gilgal. Don’t go to Beth Aven. Don’t take the oath, ‘As the Lord lives. …’
- Hosea 5:8“Blow the ram’s horn in Gibeah. Blow the trumpet in Ramah. Sound the alarm at Beth Aven, you descendants of Benjamin.
- Deuteronomy 9:21I took that sinful calf you made and burned it. I crushed it, grinding it thoroughly until it was as fine as powder. Then I threw the powder into the river that flowed down the mountain.
- 1 Kings 12:28After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said, “You’ve been worshiping in Jerusalem long enough. Israel, here are your gods who brought you out of Egypt.”
- 1 Kings 13:34Appointing illegal priests became the sin of Jeroboam’s family so that it had to be destroyed and wiped off the face of the earth.
- 1 Kings 14:16So the Lord will desert Israel because of Jeroboam’s sins, the sins which he led Israel to commit.”
- Amos 8:14⌞How horrible it will be for⌟ those who swear by Ashimah, the idol of Samaria, and say, “I solemnly swear, Dan, as your god lives….” “I solemnly swear as long as there is a road to Beersheba….” Those who say this will fall and never get up again.
- Micah 1:5All this is because of Jacob’s crime and Israel’s sin. What is Jacob’s crime? Isn’t it Samaria? What is Judah’s worship place? Isn’t it Jerusalem?
- Hosea 9:6Even if they escape without being destroyed, Egypt will capture them and Memphis will bury them. Weeds will grow over their silver treasures. Thorns will grow over their tents.
- Isaiah 32:13Mourn for my people’s land where thorns and briars will grow. Mourn for all the happy homes in a joyful city.
- Isaiah 34:13Its palaces are covered with thorns. Its fortresses have nettles and thistles. It will become a home for jackals and a place for ostriches.
- 1 Kings 13:2By a command of the Lord, this man condemned the altar. “Altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: There will be a son born in David’s family line. His name will be Josiah. Here on you Josiah will sacrifice the priests from the illegal worship sites who offer sacrifices on you. Human bones will be burned on you.”
- 2 Kings 23:15He also tore down the altar at Bethel—the place of worship made by Jeroboam (Nebat’s son), who had made Israel sin. He tore down both the altar and the place of worship. They burned the worship site, crushing it to powder and burning the pole dedicated to Asherah.
- 2 Chronicles 31:1When this was over, all the Israelites who were there went to the cities in Judah. They crushed the sacred stones, cut down the poles dedicated to the goddess Asherah, and tore down the illegal places of worship and the altars throughout Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh. The Israelites destroyed all of these things. Then all the Israelites returned to their own cities. Each person went to his own property.
- 2 Chronicles 34:5He burned the bones of the priests on their altars. So he made Judah and Jerusalem clean.
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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