Hosea 10:8
in Hosea 10The high places of Aven will be destroyed—it is the sin of Israel; thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
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.
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This verse in Hosea 10
Commentary
9 notes on this verse"He made his king pass like foam over the face of the water of Samaria, and the high places of idols shall be destroyed, the sin of Israel." LXX: "He has cast out his king from Samaria as a brand on the face of the water, and the altars will be removed." For "foam," which the LXX and Theodotion translated as φρύγανον, that is, "brand," Symmachus has placed ἐπίζεμα, wanting to show the upper waters of boiling water, and the foam and bubbles rising, which the Greeks call πομφόλυγας.
This site's exposition
the calf of Beth-aven
on Hosea 10:5-8
Samaria fears for "the calf of Beth-aven", Hosea's scornful name for Bethel, and the calf is "carried to Assyria as tribute to the great king". In verse 8 the people beg the mountains, "Cover us!", and the hills, "Fall on us!", words Jesus takes up (Luke 23:30, Revelation 6:16).
This site's exposition
The high places of Aven
Clarke read Aven as Beth-aven and the high places as idol temples. Thorns and thistles overgrow the altars of a land left empty once its people are carried away. Jesus took up the cry to the mountains at Luke 23:30.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
), that is, the idols which they made the matter of their sin; it is said of them, They became a sin to all Israel, 1 Kings xii. Note, If the grace of God prevail not to destroy the love of sin in us, it is just that the providence of God should destroy the food and fuel of sin about us.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
11 And Ephraim is as a heifer that is taught, and loveth to tread out the corn; but I passed over upon her fair neck: I will make Ephraim to ride; Judah shall plow, and Jacob shall break his clods. 12 Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the L ORD , till he come and rain righteousness upon you.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:96%@v11-12
The high places also of Aven,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
The 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, Luk 23:30, which may be a reference, and not a quotation.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The 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” (Jos 16:1; 1Sa 13:2; above Hos 4:13; Gen 35:1; Jdg 1:22; 1Sa 10:3; 2Ki 2:23) to it. “The high place” often means the shrine, or “the house of the high places.” Jeroboam had built such at Bethel 1Ki 12:31; many such already existed in his time, so that, “whoever would, he consecrated” as their “priests” 1Ki 13:32-33. The high place or shrine, is accordingly said to be “built” 1Ki 11:7, “broken down and burnt” 2Ki 23:15. At times, they were tents, and so said to be “woven 2Ki 23:7, made of garments of divers colors” Eze 16:16. The calf then, probably, became a center of idolatry; many such “idol-shrines” were formed around it, on its mount, until Bethel became a metropolis of idolatry. This was “the sin of Israel,” as being the source of all its sins. The thorn and the thistle shall come up upon their altars - This pictures, not only the desolation of the place, as before Hos 9:6, but the forced cessation of idolatry. Fire destroys, down to the root, all vegetable life which it has once touched. The thorn, once blackened by fire, puts out no fresh shoot. But now, these idol fires having been put out forever, from amid the crevices of the broken altars, “thorn and thistle” should grow freely as in a fallow soil. Where the victims aforetime “went up” is also a sacrificial term), or were offered, now the wild briars and thistles alone should “go up,” and wave freely in undisputed possession. Ephraim had “multiplied altars,” as God multiplied their “goods;” now their altars should be but monunments of the defeat of idolatry. […]
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנִשְׁמְד֞וּ | venishmedu | and they will be destroyed | H8045 → | |
| בָּמ֣וֹת | bamot | [the] high places of | H1116 → | |
| אָ֗וֶן | ʾaven | wickedness | H206 → | |
| חַטַּאת֙ | chatat | [the] sin of | H2403 → | 295 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| ק֣וֹץ | kotz | thorn[s] | H6975 → | |
| וְדַרְדַּ֔ר | vedardar | and thistle[s] | H1863 → | |
| יַעֲלֶ֖ה | yaaleh | it will grow up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | over | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| מִזְבְּחוֹתָ֑ם | mizbechotam | altars their | H4196 → | 401 times |
| וְאָמְר֤וּ | veameru | and they will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֶֽהָרִים֙ | leharim | to the mountains | H2022 → | |
| כַּסּ֔וּנוּ | kasunu | cover us | H3680 → | |
| וְלַגְּבָע֖וֹת | velagevaot | and to the hills | H1389 → | |
| נִפְל֥וּ | niflu | fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| עָלֵֽינוּ׃ ס | ʾaleinu | on us | H5921 → | 5755 times |
וְנִשְׁמְד֞וּand they will be destroyed
venishmeduH8045 →
בָּמ֣וֹת[the] high places of
bamotH1116 →
אָ֗וֶןwickedness
ʾavenH206 →
חַטַּאת֙[the] sin of
chatatH2403 →295 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
ק֣וֹץthorn[s]
kotzH6975 →
וְדַרְדַּ֔רand thistle[s]
vedardarH1863 →
יַעֲלֶ֖הit will grow up
yaalehH5927 →890 times
עַל־over
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
מִזְבְּחוֹתָ֑םaltars their
mizbechotamH4196 →401 times
וְאָמְר֤וּand they will say
veameruH559 →5305 times
לֶֽהָרִים֙to the mountains
leharimH2022 →
כַּסּ֔וּנוּcover us
kasunuH3680 →
וְלַגְּבָע֖וֹתand to the hills
velagevaotH1389 →
נִפְל֥וּfall
nifluH5307 →435 times
עָלֵֽינוּ׃ סon us
ʾaleinuH5921 →5755 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 6:16And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.
it leads to
- Luke 23:30
At that time ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Revelation 4:2
At once I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne standing in heaven, with someone seated on it.
- Luke 23:30
Through
Luke 23:30At that time ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’
it leads to
- Revelation 6:16
And they said to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.
- Isaiah 2:19
Men will flee to caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.
- Revelation 9:6
In those days men will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will escape them.
- Revelation 6:16
Through
Isaiah 2:19Men will flee to caves in the rocks and holes in the ground, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.
it leads to
- Isaiah 2:10
Go into the rocks and hide in the dust from the terror of the LORD and the splendor of His majesty.
- Isaiah 2:21
They will flee to caverns in the rocks and crevices in the cliffs, away from the terror of the LORD and from the splendor of His majesty, when He rises to shake the earth.
- Isaiah 2:10
Through
Hosea 9:6For even if they flee destruction, Egypt will gather them and Memphis will bury them. Their precious silver will be taken over by thistles, and thorns will overrun their tents.
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:6
I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.”
- Isaiah 5:6
Where this verse is studied
About Hosea
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Hosea 10:7-8; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.