1 O people of Israel, hear this word which the Lord has spoken against you and against the whole family which He brought up from the land of Egypt.

Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt:

2 “ You are the only ones I have chosen among all the families of the earth. So I must punish you for all your sins.”

You only have I known (chosen, sympathized with, and loved) of all the families of the earth; therefore I will visit upon you all your wickedness and punish you for all your iniquities.

3 D o two men walk together unless they have made an agreement?

Do two walk together except they make an appointment and have agreed?

4 D oes a lion make noise among the trees when he has no food? Does a young lion cry out from his home if he has not caught anything?

Will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den if he has taken nothing?

5 D oes a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no food to tempt it? Does a trap jump up from the ground when it does not catch anything?

Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth where there is no trap for him? Does a trap spring up from the ground when nothing at all has sprung it?

6 A re not the people afraid when a horn is blown in a city? When trouble comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it?

Shall a trumpet be blown in the city and the people not be alarmed and afraid? Shall misfortune or evil occur and the Lord has not caused it?

7 F or sure the Lord does not do anything without making His plan known to His servants who speak for Him.

Surely the Lord God will do nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets.

8 T he lion has made a noise! Who will not be afraid? The Lord God has spoken! Who can keep from speaking His Word? Israel Will Be Punished for Its Sin

The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?

9 S ay to the people who live in the strong cities of Ashdod and Egypt, “Gather together on the mountains of Samaria. See all the trouble within her and how her people suffer.

Publish to the strongholds in Ashdod and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold what great tumults (confusion and disorder) are in her and what oppressions are in the midst of her.

10 T hey do not know how to do what is right,” says the Lord. “They store up in their strong cities what they have fought for and robbed.”

For they know not how to do right, says the Lord, they who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.

11 S o the Lord God says, “Those who hate you will gather around the land. They will pull down your strong-places and rob your strong cities.”

Therefore thus says the Lord God: An adversary shall surround the land, and he shall bring down your defenses from you and your strongholds shall be plundered.

12 T he Lord says, “As the shepherd saves from the lion’s mouth just two legs or a piece of an ear, so will the people of Israel living in Samaria be saved, with the corner of a bed and a part of a cover.

Thus says the Lord: As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued with the corner of a couch and the damask covering of a bed.

13 H ear and speak against the family of Jacob,” says the Lord God, the God of All.

Hear and bear witness in the house of Jacob, says the Lord God, the God of hosts,

14 “ On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will punish the altars of Bethel. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.

That in the day when I visit Israel’s transgressions upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground.

15 I will destroy the winter house together with the summer house. The houses of ivory will be destroyed, and the beautiful houses will come to an end,” says the Lord.

And I will smite the winter house with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish and the many and great houses shall come to an end, says the Lord.