4
They speak [mere] words, taking false oaths while making covenants. So lawsuits break out like poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field.
Hosea 10:4 In-Context
2
Their heart is deceitful, and now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will demolish their altars and destroy their sacred stones.
3
Then they will say, “We have no king because we did not revere the LORD. But even if we had a king, what could he do for us?”
4
They make many promises, take false oaths and make agreements; therefore lawsuits spring up like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.
5
The people who live in Samaria fear for the calf-idol of Beth Aven.Its people will mourn over it, and so will its idolatrous priests, those who had rejoiced over its splendor, because it is taken from them into exile.
6
It will be carried to Assyria as tribute for the great king. Ephraim will be disgraced; Israel will be ashamed of its foreign alliances.