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,