The inhabitants ¹  of Samaria will lament ²  over the calf idol ³  of Beth Aven. ⁴  Its people will mourn over it; its idolatrous priests will wail ⁵  over it, ⁶  because its splendor will be taken from them ⁷  into exile.

They do not pray to me, ¹  but howl in distress on their beds; They slash themselves ²  for grain and new wine, but turn away from me.

Sound the alarm! ¹  An eagle ²  looms over the temple of the Lord! For they have broken their covenant with me, ³  and have rebelled against my law.

O Israel, do not rejoice jubilantly ¹  like the nations, for you are unfaithful ²  to your God. You love to receive a prostitute's wages ³  on all the floors where you thresh your grain.

The high places of the “House ¹  of Wickedness” ²  will be destroyed; it is the place where Israel sins. Thorns and thistles will grow up over its altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!”

Samaria and its king will be carried off ¹  like a twig ²  on the surface of the waters.

When I please, ¹  I will discipline them; ²  I will gather nations together to attack them, ³  to bind them in chains ⁴  for their two sins. ⁵ 

When they were fed, ¹  they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; ²  as a result, they forgot me!

So ¹  I will pounce on them like a lion; ²  like a leopard I will lurk by the path.

They sacrifice on the mountaintops, and burn offerings on the hills; they sacrifice ¹  under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is so pleasant. As a result, your daughters have become cult prostitutes, and your daughters-in-law commit adultery!

However, in the future I will allure her; ¹  I will lead ²  her back into the wilderness, and speak tenderly to her.

I will deal with the people and priests together: ¹  I will punish them both for their ways, and I will repay them for their deeds.

The princes of Judah are like those who move boundary markers. I will pour out my rage on them like a torrential flood! ¹ 

Therefore, I will certainly cut ¹  you into pieces at the hands of the prophets; ²  I will certainly kill you ³  in fulfillment of my oracles of judgment; ⁴  for ⁵  my judgment ⁶  will come forth like the light of the dawn. ⁷ 

I will throw my bird net over them while they are flying, I will bring them down like birds in the sky; I will discipline them when I hear them flocking together.

They ¹  utter empty words, ²  taking ³  false oaths and making empty ⁴  agreements. Therefore legal disputes sprout up like poisonous weeds ⁵  in the furrows of a plowed field.

Yet it was I who led ¹  Ephraim, I took them by the arm; but they did not acknowledge that I had healed them. ² 

They will return in fear and trembling ¹  like birds from Egypt, like doves from Assyria, and I will settle them in their homes,” declares the Lord.

The Lord also has a covenant lawsuit ¹  against Judah; he will punish Jacob according to his ways and repay him according to his deeds.

I spoke to the prophets; I myself revealed many visions; ¹  I spoke in parables ²  through ³  the prophets.”