7. Samaria’s false god will be destroyed. It will be like a piece of wood floating away on the water’s surface.
8. Israel sinned and built many high places. The high places of Aven will be destroyed. Thorns and weeds will grow on their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”
9. “Israel, you have sinned since the time of Gibeah. (And the people have continued to sin there.) Those evil people at Gibeah will be trapped by war.
10. I will come to punish them. Armies will come together against them and punish the Israelites for both of their sins.
11. “Ephraim is like a trained young cow that loves to walk on grain on the threshing floor. I will put a good yoke on her neck. I will put the ropes on Ephraim. Then Judah will begin plowing. Jacob will break the ground himself.”
12. If you plant goodness, you will harvest faithful love. Plow your ground, and you will harvest with the Lord. He will come, and he will make goodness fall on you like rain.
13. But you planted evil, and you harvested trouble. You ate the fruit of your lies, because you had trusted in your power and your soldiers.
14. So your armies will hear the noise of battle, and all your fortresses will be destroyed. It will be like the time Shalman destroyed Beth Arbel. At that time of war, mothers were killed with their children.
15. And this will happen to you at Bethel, because you did so many evil things. When that day begins, the king of Israel will be fully destroyed.