A stark warning is issued against participating in the religious centers of the northern kingdom, contrasting the true search for God with the pursuit of idolatry that ultimately leads to destruction. Previously, the people were cynically invited to come and commit sins in these locations, but now they are firmly warned to stay away completely [מלבי״ם].
The primary approach among commentators notes that Bethel served as the central, royal worship hub where the golden calf was stationed, prompting the urgent warning not to seek it out. Similarly, Gilgal functioned as another major focal point for foreign worship and abominations.
When addressing a third location, Beersheba, an interesting shift in the warning reveals a difference in how the sin there is understood. Rather than being told not to seek or enter the city, the people are warned not to pass through it. One perspective explains that false prophets instructed the people to build altars for foreign worship even in this border city at the edge of the Land of Israel [רד״ק, מצודת דוד, שטיינזלץ]. Another approach suggests that Beersheba itself was free of idolatry but acted as a critical crossroads. As long as a traveler had not yet crossed through Beersheba, they still had the chance to turn back and head toward the Temple in Jerusalem. However, once they passed through, they were firmly on the direct road to the calves in Bethel or Dan [רש״י, מלבי״ם]. This understanding also explains why the impending punishment is decreed only upon Gilgal and Bethel, sparing Beersheba from a direct prophecy of ruin [רש״י].
The warning concludes with a prophecy of destruction for these centers of worship, using striking wordplay. Gilgal will suffer a fate that mirrors its very name, as the idolatry practiced there will lead directly to the people being sent into exile [רש״י, מצודת ציון]. Meanwhile, Bethel will be reduced to emptiness and nothingness [רש״י, שטיינזלץ], bringing only exhaustion and suffering to the people [מצודת ציון, רד״ק]. Prophets frequently referred to Bethel with a derogatory term meaning a house of iniquity to highlight its tragic transformation from a house of God into a hub of sin. As a final consequence for the sins of its inhabitants, this once prominent center will be left completely desolate [אבן עזרא, מצודת דוד, שטיינזלץ].