⁴ They made kings but not through me;
    they set up princes but without my knowledge.
With their silver and gold they made idols
    for their own destruction.^(C)
5 Your calf is rejected, O Samaria.
    My anger burns against them.
How long will they be incapable of innocence?^(D)
6     For it is from Israel,
an artisan made it;
    it is not God.
The calf of Samaria
    shall be broken to pieces.^(E)

⁷ For they sow the wind,
    and they shall reap the whirlwind.
The standing grain has no heads;
    it shall yield no meal;
if it were to yield,
    foreigners would devour it.^(F)
8 Israel is swallowed up;
    now they are among the nations
    as a useless vessel.^(G)
9 For they have gone up to Assyria,
    a wild ass wandering alone;
    Ephraim has bargained for lovers.^(H)
10 Though they bargain with the nations,
    I will now gather them up.
They shall soon writhe
    under the burden of kings and princes.^(I)

¹¹ When Ephraim multiplied altars to expiate sin,
    they became to him altars for sinning.
¹² Though I write for him the multitude of my instructions,
    they are regarded as a strange thing.^(J)
13 Though they offer choice sacrifices,^[c]
    though they eat flesh,
    the Lord does not accept them.
Now he will remember their iniquity
    and punish their sins;
    they shall return to Egypt.^(K)
14 Israel has forgotten his Maker
    and built palaces,
and Judah has multiplied fortified cities,
    but I will send a fire upon his cities,
    and it shall devour his strongholds.^(L)