1 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, saying:
2 “You only have I known of all the families of the earth;Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?
5 Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it?Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all?
6 If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid?If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?
7 Surely the Lord God does nothing,Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared!Who will not fear?The Lord God has spoken!Who can but prophesy?
9 “Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod,And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say:‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria;See great tumults in her midst,And the oppressed within her.
10 For they do not know to do right,’Says the Lord,‘Who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.’ ”
11 Therefore thus says the Lord God:“An adversary shall be all around the land;He shall sap your strength from you,And your palaces shall be plundered.”
12 Thus says the Lord:“As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lionTwo legs or a piece of an ear,So shall the children of Israel be taken outWho dwell in Samaria—In the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch!
13 Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”Says the Lord God, the God of hosts,
14 “That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions,I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel;And the horns of the altar shall be cut offAnd fall to the ground.
15 I will destroy the winter house along with the summer house;The houses of ivory shall perish,And the great houses shall have an end,”Says the Lord.