Hosea 10:8 (DRB)

Passage

And the high places of the idol, the sin of Israel shall be destroyed: the bur and the thistle shall grow up over their altars: and they shall say to the mountains Cover us; and to the hills: Fall upon us.

Nearby Context

Hosea 10:6 For itself also is carried into Assyria, a present to the avenging king: shame shall fall upon Ephraim, and Israel shall be confounded in his own will.

Hosea 10:7 Samaria hath made her king to pass as froth upon the face of the water.

Hosea 10:8 And the high places of the idol, the sin of Israel shall be destroyed: the bur and the thistle shall grow up over their altars: and they shall say to the mountains Cover us; and to the hills: Fall upon us.

Hosea 10:9 From the days of Gabaa, Israel hath sinned, there they stood: the battle in Gabaa against the children of iniquity shall not overtake them.

Hosea 10:10 According to my desire, I will chastise them: and the nations shall be gathered together against them, when they shall be chastised for their two iniquities.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "high", "places", "idol", "israel", "shall", "destroyed", and "thistle". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "high" and "places", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 7's "Samaria hath made her king to pass..." into verse 9's "From the days of Gabaa Israel hath...", so "high" and "places" belong inside that flow. In Hosea context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "high" and "places" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.