1-2. Israel was once a lush vine,bountiful in grapes.The more lavish the harvest,the more promiscuous the worship.The more money they got,the more they squandered on gods-in-their-own-image.Their sweet smiles are sheer lies.They’re guilty as sin.God will smash their worship shrines,pulverize their god-images.
3-4. They go around saying,“Who needs a king?We couldn’t care less about God,so why bother with a king?What difference would he make?”They talk big,lie through their teeth,make deals.But their high-sounding wordsturn out to be empty words, litter in the gutters.
5-6. The people of Samaria travel over to Crime Cityto worship the golden calf-god.They go all out, prancing and hollering,taken in by their showmen priests.They act so important around the calf-god,but are oblivious to the sham, the shame.They have plans to take it to Assyria,present it as a gift to the great king.And so Ephraim makes a fool of himself,disgraces Israel with his stupid idols.
7-8. Samaria is history. Its kingis a dead branch floating down the river.Israel’s favorite sin centerswill all be torn down.Thistles and crabgrasswill decorate their ruined altars.Then they’ll say to the mountains, “Bury us!”and to the hills, “Fall on us!”