1. Israel is like a vinethat produced plenty of fruit.As the people became richer,they built more altars for idols.As their land became better,they put up better stone pillars to honor false gods.
2. Their heart was false.Now they must pay for their guilt.The Lord will break down their altars.He will destroy their holy stone pillars.
3. Then the Israelites will say, “We have no king,because we didn’t honor the Lord.But even if we had one,he couldn’t do anything for us.”
4. They make many false promises.They make agreements they don’t keep.So people sue each other in court.They are like poisonous weeds growing in a plowed field.
5. The people from Israel are worried aboutthe calf-shaped idol at Beth Aven.The people and the priests will crybecause their glorious idol is gone.
6. It will be carried off as a payment that was demandedto the great king of Assyria.Israel will be disgraced.The people will be ashamed of trusting that idol.
7. The king of Israel will be carried offlike a chip of wood floating on the water.
8. The places of worship at Beth Aven will be destroyed.They are where Israel sins.Thorns and weeds will grow upand cover their altars.Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!”And they will say to the hills, “Fall on us!”