a heap of rubble: The Lord warned that he would completely destroy his treasured cities. Assyria almost completely destroyed Samaria in a brutal three-year siege from 724 to 722 BC.
Samaria, like many ancient cities, was built on a hill. When the city was destroyed, soldiers pushed the stones of its walls down into the valley below. Ancient armies often tore down city walls stone by stone, all the way to the foundation.
Samaria and Jerusalem were filled with carved images and sacred treasures placed by worshipers or taken as war loot.
Prostitution symbolizes Israel’s ongoing spiritual and physical unfaithfulness. Israelite prophets often used this metaphor to show Israel’s abandonment of the Lord, her true husband, to seek blessings from pagan gods. The worship of those gods often involved sexual activity.
Again refers to the exile of Samaria into Assyria and its various provinces and conquered vassal states, which happened in 722 BC. The same fate was predicted for Jerusalem (Micah 3:12; Jeremiah 26:18).