1Yisroel is a running gefen,
he bringeth forth p'ri unto himself;
according to the multitude of his fruit he hath increased the mizbechot;
according to the goodness of his land they have made goodly matzevot (stone pillars, monuments).

2Their lev is deceitful;
now shall they bear guilt;
He shall break down their mizbechot,
He shall destroy their matzevot.

3For now they shall say:
We have no Melech,
because we feared not Hashem;
but if we did have a Melech, what could he do for us?

4They have spoken words,
swearing falsely in cutting brit (covenant);
thus mishpat springeth up as poisonous herb
in the furrows of the sadeh.

5The inhabitants of Shomron tremble
because of the eglot (calf-idols) of Beit-Aven;
for the people thereof shall mourn over it,
likewise the komer (idolatrous priests),
who shout for joy over it,
for its kavod from it has departed.

6It shall be also carried unto Assyria
for a minchah (present) to the great king;
Ephrayim shall receive disgrace,
and Yisroel shall be ashamed of his own counsel.

7As for Shomron,
her melech will float off like a twig upon the surface of the mayim.

8The high places also of Aven, the chattat Yisroel,
shall be made shmad;
the kotz (thorn) and the dardar (thistle) shall come up on their mizbechot;
and they shall say to the mountains: Cover us;
and to the hills: Fall on us.

9O Yisroel, thou hast sinned
from the yamei Giv'ah;
there they have continued.
Did not milchamah (war) overtake
the bnei alvah (children of unruliness) in Giv'ah?

10When I please, I will chastise them;
amim shall be gathered against them,
when they are punished for their shtei avon (double iniquity).

11And Ephrayim is an eglah melummadah (a trained heifer),
and loveth to tread out the grain;
but I will put a yoke on her fair neck;
I will drive Ephrayim;
Yehudah shall plow,
and Ya'akov shall break his clods.

12Sow to yourselves in tzedakah,
reap in chesed;
break up your fallow ground;
for it is time to seek Hashem,
till He come and rain tzedek upon you.

13Ye have plowed resha,
ye have reaped avlah;
ye have eaten the pri kachash (fruit of lies);
because thou didst trust in thy way,
in the multitude of thy gibborim (mighty men).

14Therefore shall a tumult arise among thy people,
and all thy fortresses shall be devastated,
as Shalman devastated Beit-Arbel on the yom milchamah;
the em were dashed in pieces with their banim.

15So, O Beit-El, shall it be done unto you
because of your great wickedness;
in the shachar (dawn) shall the Melech Yisroel
utterly be cut off. ²⁰