Bible Strands
Hosea 10:14
the roar of battle will rise against your people, so that all your fortresses will be demolished as Shalman devastated Beth-arbel in the day of battle, when mothers were dashed to pieces along with their children.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Hosea delivers this oracle against the northern kingdom of Israel, pronouncing impending military judgment following their confession of wickedness and reliance on military strength. The message addresses the nation directly as divine wrath approaches.
The words — The Hebrew שָׁאוֹן (shaʾôn) translates literally as an uproar or roar, describing the sudden onset of battle. The verb יוּשַּׁד (yushshad) means it will be devastated, specifying the total destruction of the nation's fortresses.
The thread — This imagery of besieged fortresses and dashed children recurs in Hosea 13:16 and aligns with the historical Assyrian campaigns recorded in 2 Kings 18:9. The motif of siege ramps and fallen strongholds also echoes Habakkuk 1:10.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that political alliances and military infrastructure cannot avert divine judgment. Readers must confront the reality that misplaced trust in human power yields only ruin.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people, and all thy fortresses shall be spoiled, as Shalman spoiled Beth–arbel in the day of battle: the mother was dashed in pieces upon her children.
Cross-references
- Hosea 13:16 Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.
- 2 Kings 18:9 In the fourth year of Hezekiah’s reign, which was the seventh year of the reign of Hoshea son of Elah over Israel, Shalmaneser king of Assyria marched against Samaria and besieged it.
- Habakkuk 1:10 They scoff at kings and make rulers an object of scorn. They laugh at every fortress and build up siege ramps to seize it.
- Genesis 32:11 Please deliver me from the hand of my brother Esau, for I am afraid that he may come and attack me and the mothers and children with me.
- 2 Kings 17:16 They abandoned all the commandments of the LORD their God and made for themselves two cast idols of calves and an Asherah pole. They bowed down to all the host of heaven and served Baal.
- 2 Kings 18:33 Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
- 2 Kings 19:11 Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries, devoting them to destruction. Will you then be spared?
- Isaiah 13:16 Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be ravished.
- Isaiah 17:3 The fortress will disappear from Ephraim, and the sovereignty from Damascus. The remnant of Aram will be like the splendor of the Israelites,” declares the LORD of Hosts.
- Isaiah 22:1 This is the burden against the Valley of Vision: What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the rooftops,