New Living Translation
Hosea 10:8
8And the pagan shrines of Aven, the place of Israel’s sin, will crumble. Thorns and thistles will grow up around their altars. They will beg the mountains, “Bury us!” and plead with 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
6This idol will be carted away to Assyria, a gift to the great king there. Ephraim will be ridiculed and Israel will be shamed, because its people have trusted in this idol. 7Samaria and its king will be cut off; they will float away like driftwood on an ocean wave. And the pagan shrines of Aven, the place of Israel’s sin, will crumble. Thorns and thistles will grow up around their altars. They will beg the mountains, “Bury us!” and plead with the hills, “Fall on us!” 9The Lord says, “O Israel, ever since Gibeah, there has been only sin and more sin! You have made no progress whatsoever. Was it not right that the wicked men of Gibeah were attacked? 10Now whenever it fits my plan, I will attack you, too. I will call out the armies of the nations to punish you for your multiplied 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 10:5The people of Samaria tremble in fear for their calf idol at Beth-aven, and they mourn for it. Though its priests rejoice over it, its glory will be stripped away.
- Hosea 4:15“Though you, Israel, are a prostitute, may Judah not be guilty of such things. Do not join the false worship at Gilgal or Beth-aven, and do not take oaths there in the Lord’s name.
- Hosea 5:8“Sound the alarm in Gibeah! Blow the trumpet in Ramah! Raise the battle cry in Beth-aven! Lead on into battle, O warriors of Benjamin!
- Deuteronomy 9:21I took your sin—the calf you had made—and I melted it down in the fire and ground it into fine dust. Then I threw the dust into the stream that flows down the mountain.
- 1 Kings 12:28So on the advice of his counselors, the king made two gold calves. He said to the people, “It is too much trouble for you to worship in Jerusalem. Look, Israel, these are the gods who brought you out of Egypt!”
- 1 Kings 13:34This became a great sin and resulted in the utter destruction of Jeroboam’s dynasty from the face of the earth.
- 1 Kings 14:16He will abandon Israel because Jeroboam sinned and made Israel sin along with him.”
- Amos 8:14And those who swear by the shameful idols of Samaria— who take oaths in the name of the god of Dan and make vows in the name of the god of Beersheba— they will all fall down, never to rise again.”
- Micah 1:5And why is this happening? Because of the rebellion of Israel— yes, the sins of the whole nation. Who is to blame for Israel’s rebellion? Samaria, its capital city! Where is the center of idolatry in Judah? In Jerusalem, its capital!
- Hosea 9:6Even if you escape destruction from Assyria, Egypt will conquer you, and Memphis will bury you. Nettles will take over your treasures of silver; thistles will invade your ruined homes.
- Isaiah 32:13For your land will be overgrown with thorns and briers. Your joyful homes and happy towns will be gone.
- Isaiah 34:13Thorns will overrun its palaces; nettles and thistles will grow in its forts. The ruins will become a haunt for jackals and a home for owls.
- 1 Kings 13:2Then at the Lord’s command, he shouted, “O altar, altar! This is what the Lord says: A child named Josiah will be born into the dynasty of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests from the pagan shrines who come here to burn incense, and human bones will be burned on you.”
- 2 Kings 23:15The king also tore down the altar at Bethel—the pagan shrine that Jeroboam son of Nebat had made when he caused Israel to sin. He burned down the shrine and ground it to dust, and he burned the Asherah pole.
- 2 Chronicles 31:1When the festival ended, the Israelites who attended went to all the towns of Judah, Benjamin, Ephraim, and Manasseh, and they smashed all the sacred pillars, cut down the Asherah poles, and removed the pagan shrines and altars. After this, the Israelites returned to their own towns and homes.
- 2 Chronicles 34:5He burned the bones of the pagan priests on their own altars, and so he purified 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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