3Now, truly, they will say, We have no king, we have no fear of the Lord; and the king, what is he able to do for us?
4Their words are foolish; they make agreements with false oaths, so punishment will come up like a poison-plant in a ploughed field.
5The people of Samaria will be full of fear because of the ox of Beth-aven; its people will have sorrow for it, and its priests will give cries of grief for its glory, for the glory has gone in flight.
6And they will take it to Assyria and give it to the great king; shame will come on Ephraim, and Israel will be shamed because of its image.
7As for Samaria, her king is cut off, like mist on the water.
8And the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will come to destruction; thorns and waste plants will come up on their altars; they will say to the mountains, Be a cover over us; and to the hills, Come down on us.
9O Israel, you have done evil from the days of Gibeah; there they took up their position, so that the fighting against the children of evil might not overtake them in Gibeah.
