Study

10. Punishment for Israel

    ³ Then they will say, “We have no king
   because we did not revere the LORD.
But even if we had a king,
   what could he do for us?”
⁴ They make many promises,
   take false oaths
   and make agreements;
therefore lawsuits spring up
   like poisonous weeds in a plowed field.
⁵ The people who live in Samaria fear
   for the calf-idol of Beth Aven. Beth Aven means house of wickedness (a derogatory name for Bethel, which means house of God).
Its people will mourn over it,
   and so will its idolatrous priests,
those who had rejoiced over its splendor,
   because it is taken from them into exile.
⁶ It will be carried to Assyria
   as tribute for the great king.
Ephraim will be disgraced;
   Israel will be ashamed of its foreign alliances.
⁷ Samaria’s king will be destroyed,
   swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters.
⁸ The high places of wickedness Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see verse 5. will be destroyed—
   it is the sin of Israel.
Thorns and thistles will grow up
   and cover their altars.
Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”
   and to the hills, “Fall on us!”

    ⁹ “Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel,
   and there you have remained. Or there a stand was taken
Will not war again overtake
   the evildoers in Gibeah?
¹⁰ When I please, I will punish them;
   nations will be gathered against them
   to put them in bonds for their double sin.
¹¹ Ephraim is a trained heifer
   that loves to thresh;
so I will put a yoke
   on her fair neck.
I will drive Ephraim,
   Judah must plow,
   and Jacob must break up the ground.
¹² Sow righteousness for yourselves,
   reap the fruit of unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
   for it is time to seek the LORD,
until he comes
   and showers his righteousness on you.
¹³ But you have planted wickedness,
   you have reaped evil,
   you have eaten the fruit of deception.
Because you have depended on your own strength
   and on your many warriors,
¹⁴ the roar of battle will rise against your people,
   so that all your fortresses will be devastated—
as Shalman devastated Beth Arbel on the day of battle,
   when mothers were dashed to the ground with their children.
¹⁵ So will it happen to you, Bethel,
   because your wickedness is great.
When that day dawns,
   the king of Israel will be completely destroyed.