You Have Sinned, O Israel
Israel is a luxuriant avine;
He produces fruit for himself.
The more abundant his fruit,
The more altars he babounded;
The better his land,
The better he made the sacred cpillars.
2 Their heart is afaithless;
Now they must bear their bguilt.
Yahweh will cbreak down their altars
And destroy their sacred pillars.
3 Surely now they will say, “We have ano king,
For we do not fear Yahweh.
As for the king, what can he do for us?”
4 They speak mere words;
With aworthless oaths they cut covenants;
And bjudgment flourishes like gall in the furrows of the field.
5 The dweller of Samaria will fear
For the acalf of bBeth‑aven.
Indeed, its people will mourn for it,
And its cidolatrous priests will cry out over it,
Over its dglory, since it has gone into exile from them.
6 The thing itself will be carried to aAssyria
As tribute to bKing Jareb;
Ephraim will creceive shame,
And Israel will be ashamed of its down counsel.
7 Samaria will be aruined with her king
Like a stick on the surface of the water.
8 Also the ahigh places of Aven, the bsin of Israel, will be eradicated;
cThorn and thistle will grow on their altars;
Then they will dsay to the mountains,
“Cover us!” And to the hills, “Fall on us!”
9 From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel;
There they stand!
Will not the battle against the sons of injustice overtake them in Gibeah?
10 When it is My adesire, I will bchastise them;
And cthe peoples will be gathered against them
When they are bound for their double guilt.
The Trained Heifer
11 And Ephraim is a trained aheifer that loves to thresh,
But I will bcome over her fair neck with a yoke;
I will harness Ephraim;
Judah will plow; Jacob will harrow for himself.
12 aSow with a view to righteousness,
Reap in accordance with lovingkindness;
bBreak up your fallow ground,
Indeed, it is time to cseek Yahweh
Until He dcomes and erains righteousness on you.
13 You have aplowed wickedness; you have reaped injustice;
You have eaten the fruit of bdeception.
Because you have trusted in your way, in your cabundant warriors,
14 Therefore a rumbling will arise among your people,
And all your afortifications will be destroyed,
As Shalman destroyed Beth‑arbel on the day of battle,
When bmothers were dashed in pieces with their children.
15 Thus it will be done to you at Bethel because of your evil of evils.
At dawn the king of Israel will be completely ruined.