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 Yahweh has spoken against you, children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying:

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 chosen of all the families of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all of your sins.”

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

Do two walk together, unless they 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 thicket, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught 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 trap on the earth, where no snare is set for him? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when there is nothing to catch?

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?

Does the trumpet alarm sound in a city, without the people being afraid? Does evil happen to a city, and Yahweh hasn’t done 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 Yahweh will do nothing, unless he reveals 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 Yahweh 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.

Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see what unrest is in her, and what oppression is among them.”

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.”

“Indeed they don’t know to do right,” says Yahweh, “Who hoard plunder and loot in their palaces.”

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 Yahweh: “An adversary will overrun the land; and he will pull down your strongholds, and your fortresses will 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.

Yahweh says: “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 be rescued who sit in Samaria on the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed.”

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

“Listen, and testify against the house of Jacob,” says the Lord Yahweh, the God of Armies.

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.

“For in the day that I visit the transgressions of Israel on him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar will 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.

I will strike the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory will perish, and the great houses will have an end,” says Yahweh.