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Hosea 10:4

Judgment

2 Their hearts are devious; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and demolish their sacred pillars.

3 Surely now they will say, “We have no king, for we do not revere the LORD. What can a king do for us?”

They speak mere words; with false oaths they make covenants. So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.

5 The people of Samaria will fear for the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, its people will mourn with its idolatrous priests— those who rejoiced in its glory— for it has been taken from them into exile.

6 Yes, it will be carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king. Ephraim will be seized with shame; Israel will be ashamed of its wooden idols.

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This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB
They speak mere words; with false oaths they make covenants. So judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.
KJV
They have spoken words, swearing falsely in making a covenant: thus judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.
WEB
They make promises, swearing falsely in making covenants. Therefore judgment springs up like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field.
ASV
They speak [vain] words, swearing falsely in making covenants: therefore judgment springeth up as hemlock in the furrows of the field.
DARBY
They speak [mere] words, swearing falsely in making a covenant; therefore shall judgment spring up as hemlock in the furrows of the fields.
BLB
They have spoken words, swearing falsely [in] cutting a covenant, and judgment sprouts up like a poison in the furrows of the field.
ÅB
De har talt tomme ord, svoret falsk, inngått forbund, og retten skyter opp som giftige urter på markens furer.
OTB
De taler tomme ord,
Med falske eder inngår de pakter;
Og dommen spirer opp som skadelige ugress i furen på marken.
B1930
De har talt tomme ord, svoret falsk, inngått forbund, og retten skyter op som giftige urter på markens furer.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

  • Hosea 4:2

    Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another.

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  • Amos 5:7

    There are those who turn justice into wormwood and cast righteousness to the ground.

    Read in context

  • Amos 6:12

    “Do horses gallop on the cliffs? Does one plow the sea with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—

    Read in context

  • Ezekiel 17:13–19

    He took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he carried away the leading men of the land,

    Read in context

  • 2 Kings 17:3–4

    Shalmaneser king of Assyria attacked him, and Hoshea became his vassal and paid him tribute.

    Read in context

  • Deuteronomy 29:18

    Make sure there is no man or woman, clan or tribe among you today whose heart turns away from the LORD our God to go and worship the gods of those nations. Make sure there is no root among you that bears such poisonous and bitter fruit,

    Read in context

  • 2 Timothy 3:3

    unloving, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, without love of good,

    Read in context

  • Isaiah 59:13–15

    rebelling and denying the LORD, turning away from our God, speaking oppression and revolt, conceiving and uttering lies from the heart.

    Read in context