The Women of Samaria
The Lord said:
1 You women of Samaria
are fat cows!
You mistreat and abuse
the poor and needy,
then you say to your husbands,
“Bring us more drinks!”
2 I, the Lord God, have sworn
by my own name
that your time is coming.
Not one of you will be left—
you will be taken away
by sharp hooks.
3 You will be dragged through holes
in your city walls,
and you will be thrown
toward Harmon.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
Israel Refuses To Obey
The Lord said:
4 Come to Bethel and Gilgal.
Sin all you want!
Offer sacrifices the next morning
and bring a tenth of your crops
on the third day.
5 Bring offerings to show me
how thankful you are.
Gladly bring more offerings
than I have demanded.
You really love to do this.
I, the Lord God, have spoken!
How the Lord Warned Israel
6 I, the Lord, took away the food
from every town and village,
but still you rejected me.
7 Three months before harvest,
I kept back the rain.
Sometimes I would let it fall
on one town or field
but not on another,
and pastures dried up.
8 People from two or three towns
would go to a town
that still had water,
but it wasn't enough.
Even then you rejected me.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
9 I dried up your grain fields;
your gardens and vineyards
turned brown.
Locusts ate your fig trees
and olive orchards,
but even then you rejected me.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
10 I did terrible things to you,
just as I did to Egypt—
I killed your young men in war;
I let your horses be stolen,
and I made your camp stink
with dead bodies.
Even then you rejected me.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
11 I destroyed many of you,
just as I did the cities
of Sodom and Gomorrah.
You were a burning stick
I rescued from the fire.
But even then you rejected me.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
12 Now, Israel, I myself
will deal with you.
Get ready to face your God!
13 I created the mountains
and the wind.
I let humans know
what I am thinking.
I bring darkness at dawn
and step over hills.
I am the Lord God All-Powerful!
1 Heare this worde, ye kine of Bashan that are in the mountaine of Samaria, which oppresse the poore, and destroy the needie, and they say to their masters, Bring, and let vs drinke. 2 The Lord God hath sworne by his holines, that loe, the dayes shall come vpon you, that hee wil take you away with thornes, and your posteritie with fish hookes. 3 And ye shall goe out at the breaches euery kow forward: and ye shall cast your selues out of the palace, saith the Lord. 4 Come to Beth-el, and transgresse: to Gilgal, and multiplie transgression, and bring your sacrifices in the morning, and your tithes after three yeres. 5 And offer a thankesgiuing of leauen, publish and proclaime the free offrings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God. 6 And therefore haue I giuen you cleannes of teeth in all your cities, and scarcenesse of bread in all your places, yet haue ye not returned vnto me, saith the Lord. 7 And also I haue withholden the raine from you, when there were yet three moneths to the haruest, and I caused it to raine vpon one citie, and haue not caused it to raine vpon another citie: one piece was rained vpon, and the piece whereupon it rained not, withered. 8 So two or three cities wandred vnto one citie to drinke water, but they were not satisfied: yet haue ye not returned vnto me, saith the Lord. 9 I haue smitten you with blasting, and mildewe: your great gardens and your vineyardes, and your figtrees, and your oliue trees did the palmer worme deuoure: yet haue ye not returned vnto me, saith the Lord. 10 Pestilence haue I sent among you, after the maner of Egypt: your yong men haue I slaine with the sworde, and haue taken away your horses: and I haue made the stinke of your tentes to come vp euen into your nostrels: yet haue yee not returned vnto me, saith the Lord. 11 I haue ouerthrowe you, as God ouerthrew Sodom and Gomorah: and ye were as a firebrand pluckt out of the burning: yet haue ye not returned vnto me, saith the Lord. 12 Therefore, thus wil I do vnto thee, O Israel: and because I wil doe this vnto thee, prepare to meete thy God, O Israel. 13 For lo, he that formeth the mountaines, and createth the winde, and declareth vnto man what is his thought: which maketh the morning darkenesse, and walketh vpon the hie places of the earth, the Lord God of hostes is his Name.