1 Heare this worde that the Lord pronounceth against you, O children of Israel, euen against the whole familie which I brought vp from the land of Egypt, saying, 2 You onely haue I knowen of all the families of the earth: therefore I will visite you for all your iniquities. 3 Can two walke together except they bee agreed? 4 Will a lion roare in ye forest, when he hath no pray? or wil a lions whelpe cry out of his den, if he haue taken nothing? 5 Can a birde fall in a snare vpon the earth, where no fouler is? or will he take vp the snare from the earth, and haue taken nothing at all? 6 Or shall a trumpet be blowen in the citie, and the people be not afraide? or shall there be euil in a citie, and the Lord hath not done it? 7 Surely the Lord God will doe nothing, but he reueileth his secrete vnto his seruantes the Prophets. 8 The lyon hath roared: who will not bee afraide? the Lord God hath spoken: who can but prophecie? 9 Proclayme in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the lande of Egypt, and saye, Assemble your selues vpon the mountaines of Samaria: so beholde the great tumultes in the middes thereof, and the oppressed in the middes thereof. 10 For they knowe not to doe right, sayth the Lord: they store vp violence, and robbery in their palaces. 11 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, An aduersary shall come euen rounde about the countrey, and shall bring downe thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shalbe spoyled. 12 Thus saieth the Lord, As the shephearde taketh out of the mouth of the lyon two legges, or a piece of an eare: so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus, as in a couche. 13 Heare, and testifie in the house of Iaakob, saith the Lord God, the God of hostes. 14 Surely in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel vpon him, I wil also visite the altars of Beth-el, and the hornes of the altar shall be broken off, and fall to the ground. 15 And I wil smite the winter house with the sommer house, and the houses of yuorie shall perish, and the great houses shalbe consumed, sayth the Lord.
1 People of Israel,
I rescued you from Egypt.
Now listen to my judgment
against you.
2 Of all nations on earth,
you are the only one
I have chosen.
That's why I will punish you
because of your sins.
The Work of a Prophet
3 Can two people walk together
without agreeing to meet?
4 Does a lion roar in the forest
unless it has caught
a victim?
Does it growl in its den
unless it is eating?
5 How can anyone catch a bird
without using a net?
Does a trap spring shut
unless something is caught?
6 Isn't the whole city frightened
when the trumpet
signals an attack?
Isn't the Lord the one who brings
disaster on a city?
7 Whatever the Lord God
plans to do,
he tells his servants,
the prophets.
8 Everyone is terrified
when a lion roars—
and ordinary people
become prophets
when the Lord God speaks.
Samaria Is Doomed
9 Here is a message
for the leaders
of Philistia and Egypt—
tell everyone to come together
on the hills of Samaria.
Let them see the injustice
and the lawlessness
in that city.
10 The Lord has said
that they don't even know how
to do right.
They have become rich
from violence and robbery.
11 And so the Lord God has sworn
that they will be surrounded.
Enemies will break through
their defenses
and steal their treasures.
12 The Lord has promised
that only a few from Samaria
will escape with their lives
and with some broken pieces
of their beds and couches.
It will be like when a shepherd
rescues two leg bones
and part of a sheep's ear
from the jaws of a lion.
The Altars at Bethel
13 The Lord God All-Powerful
told me to speak this message
against Jacob's descendants:
14 When I, the Lord, punish Israel
for their sins,
I will destroy the altars
at Bethel.
Even the corners of the altar
will be left in the dirt.
15 I will tear down winter homes
and summer homes.
Houses decorated with ivory
and all other mansions
will be gone forever.
I, the Lord, have spoken!