1  Listen to this message, Israelites,

which the Lord has spoken against you,

against the whole nation that I brought out of Egypt:

2  You alone have I cared for of all the nations of the world,

this is why I will punish you for your crimes.

3  Do two walk together

unless they agreed to meet?

4  Does a lion roar in the forest

when there is no prey for him?

Does a young lion cry out in his den

unless he has caught something?

5  Does a bird swoop down into a trap

if no bait is set for it?

Does a trap spring up from the ground

if nothing sets it off?

6  Can a trumpet be blown in a city

and the people not tremble?

Can disaster strike a city

and the Lord not have caused it?

7  Surely the Lord God does nothing

without revealing his purpose to his servants the prophets.

8  The lion has roared; who does not fear?

The Lord God has spoken; who will not prophesy?

9  Proclaim over the palaces in Ashdod,

and over the palaces in the land of Egypt:

Gather upon the mountain of Samaria,

and see the violent turmoil,

the acts of oppression in her midst.

10  For they do not know how to do right.

They are heaping up violence

and oppression in their palaces,

says the Lord.

11  Therefore the Lord God says:

An enemy will surround the land,

he will strip your strength from you.

and your palaces will be looted.

12  The Lord says:

Just as a shepherd rescues from the jaws of a lion

two shinbones or a piece of an ear,

so the Israelites living in Sameria will be rescued –

with the corner of a couch,

and the damask of a divan!

13  Listen and testify against the house of Jacob,

says the Lord God, the God of hosts.

14  On the day when I punish Israel for their crimes,

I will also visit in judgment the altars of Bethel,

the horns of the altar will be hacked off,

and they will fall to the ground.

15  I will destroy the winter houses

together with the summer houses

and the houses of ivory will perish.

Many great houses will be swept away,

says the Lord.