2 Their heart is false!Now they will pay for their guilt:God will break down their altarsand destroy their sacred pillars.
3 For now they will say,“We have no king!Since we do not fear the Lord,the king—what could he do for us?”
4 They make promises,swear false oaths, and make covenants,While lawsuits sproutlike poisonous weeds in the furrows of a field!
5 The inhabitants of Samaria are afraidfor the calf of Beth-aven;Its people mourn for itand its idolatrous priests wail over it,—over its glory which has departed from it.
6 It too will be carried to Assyria,as an offering to the great king. Ephraim will be put to shame,Israel will be shamed by his schemes.
7 Samaria and her king will disappear,like a twig upon the waters.
8 The high places of Aven will be destroyed,the sin of Israel;thorns and thistles will overgrow their altars.Then they will cry out to the mountains, “Cover us!”and to the hills, “Fall upon us!”