Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.
Parallel translations
- WEB Their heart is divided. Now they will be found guilty. He will demolish their altars. He will destroy their sacred stones.
- BSB Their hearts are devious; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and demolish their sacred pillars.
- NKJV Their heart is divided; Now they are held guilty. He will break down their altars; He will ruin their sacred pillars.
- NASB Their heart is deceitful; Now they must suffer for their guilt. The Lord will break down their altars And destroy their memorial stones.
- NLT The hearts of the people are fickle; they are guilty and must be punished. The Lord will break down their altars and smash their sacred pillars.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Their heart is divided, so now they bear their guilt; God will break down their altars and ruin their idolatrous pillars.
Overview
Israel's loyalty is split between the LORD and idols, and such a divided heart is itself guilt before God. Therefore He will tear down the very altars and pillars they trusted. The verse exposes the impossibility of serving God halfheartedly and anticipates the call to undivided devotion, for one cannot serve two masters.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- 1 Kgs 18:21And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
- Mic 5:13Thy graven images also will I cut off, and thy standing images out of the midst of thee; and thou shalt no more worship the work of thine hands.
- Jas 4:4Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
- Luke 16:13No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
- Jas 1:8A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
- Rev 3:15–16I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
- Zeph 1:5And them that worship the host of heaven upon the housetops; and them that worship and that swear by the LORD, and that swear by Malcham;
- Matt 6:24No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
- Hos 7:8Ephraim, he hath mixed himself among the people; Ephraim is a cake not turned.
- Hos 8:5–6Thy calf, O Samaria, hath cast thee off; mine anger is kindled against them: how long will it be ere they attain to innocency?
- Hos 13:16Samaria shall become desolate; for she hath rebelled against her God: they shall fall by the sword: their infants shall be dashed in pieces, and their women with child shall be ripped up.
- Isa 44:18They have not known nor understood: for he hath shut their eyes, that they cannot see; and their hearts, that they cannot understand.
- 1 Sam 5:4And when they arose early on the morrow morning, behold, Dagon was fallen upon his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD; and the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold; only the stump of Dagon was left to him.
- Hos 10:5–8The inhabitants of Samaria shall fear because of the calves of Bethaven: for the people thereof shall mourn over it, and the priests thereof that rejoiced on it, for the glory thereof, because it is departed from it.
- Jer 43:13He shall break also the images of Bethshemesh, that is in the land of Egypt; and the houses of the gods of the Egyptians shall he burn with fire.
- Zech 13:2And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will cut off the names of the idols out of the land, and they shall no more be remembered: and also I will cause the prophets and the unclean spirit to pass out of the land.
- 1 Jn 2:15Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
- 2 Th 2:11–12And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
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Christ at the center
God's relentless love for an unfaithful bride dramatizes the gospel: 'Out of Egypt I called my son' is fulfilled in Jesus, who redeems an adulterous people at his own cost.
How Hosea 10:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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