aIsrael is a luxuriant vine
that yields its fruit.
The more his fruit increased,
bthe more altars he built;
as his country improved,
he improved his pillars.
2 Their heart is false;
now they must bear their guilt.
The Lord will break down their altars
and destroy their pillars.
3 For now they will say:
a“We have no king,
for we do not fear the Lord;
and a king—what could he do for us?”
4 They utter amere words;
with empty oaths they make covenants;
so bjudgment springs up like poisonous weeds
cin the furrows of the field.
5 The inhabitants of Samaria tremble
for athe calf of bBeth‑aven.
Its people mourn for it, and so do its idolatrous priests—
those who rejoiced over it and cover its glory—
for it has departed from them.
6 aThe thing itself shall be carried to Assyria
as tribute to bthe great king.
Ephraim shall be put to shame,
and Israel shall be ashamed cof his idol.
7 aSamaria’s king shall perish
like a twig on the face of the waters.
8 The high places of aAven, bthe sin of Israel,
shall be destroyed.
cThorn and thistle shall grow up
on their altars,
and dthey shall say to the mountains, “Cover us,”
and to the hills, “Fall on us.”
9 From athe days of Gibeah, you have sinned, O Israel;
there they have continued.
Shall not the war against the unjust overtake them in Gibeah?
10 aWhen I please, bI will discipline them,
and nations shall be gathered against them
when they are bound up for ctheir double iniquity.
11 Ephraim was a trained calf
that aloved to thresh,
and I spared her fair neck;
but I will put bEphraim to the yoke;
bJudah must plow;
Jacob must harrow for himself.
12 aSow for yourselves righteousness;
reap steadfast love;
bbreak up your fallow ground,
for it is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come and crain righteousness upon you.
13 aYou have plowed iniquity;
you have reaped injustice;
you have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your own way
and in the multitude of your warriors,
14 therefore athe tumult of war shall arise among your people,
and all your fortresses shall be destroyed,
as bShalman destroyed Beth‑arbel on the day of battle;
cmothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
15 Thus it shall be done to you, O aBethel,
because of your great evil.
At dawn bthe king of Israel
shall be utterly cut off.