The high places also of Aven, the sin of Israel, shall be destroyed: the thorn and the thistle shall come up on their altars; and they shall say to the mountains, Cover us; and to the hills, Fall on us.
The high places also of Aven - i:e., Beth-aven.
The sin - i:e., the occasion of sin (Deuteronomy 9:21; 1 Kings 12:30, "This thing (the calves at Dan and Bethel respectively) became a sin").
And they shall say to the mountains, Cover us - so terrible shall be the calamity, that men shall prefer death to life (Luke 23:30; Revelation 6:16; Revelation 9:6). Those very hills on which were their idolatrous altars, one source of their confidence, as their "king" (Hosea 10:7) was the other, so far from helping them, shall be called on by them to overwhelm them.