Hosea 9:16

9:16 Ephraim will be struck down ¹  –

their root will be dried up;

they will not yield any fruit.

Even if they do bear children,

I will kill their precious offspring.

Hosea 10:1

Israel is Guilty of Fertility Cult Worship

10:1 Israel was a fertile vine

that yielded fruit.

As his fruit multiplied,

he multiplied altars to Baal. ² 

As his land prospered,

they adorned the fertility pillars.

[9:16]  ¹ tn Or perhaps, following the plant metaphor, “will be blighted” (NIV similar).

[10:1]  ² tn The phrase “to Baal” does not appear in the Hebrew text here, but is implied; it is supplied in the translation for the sake of clarity. Cf. NCV “altars for idols”; NLT “altars of their foreign gods.”