All the Families Are Guilty
1 Hear this word that the Lordhas spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt:
2 “I have known [chosen, cared for, and loved] only you of all the families of the earth;
Therefore I shall punish you for all your wickedness.”
3 Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment?
4 Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey?
Does a young lion growl from his den if he has not capturedsomething?
5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no bait in it?
Does a trap spring up from the ground when it has caught nothing at all? [Of course not! So it is that Israel has earned her impending judgment.]
6 If a trumpet is blown in a city [warning of danger] will not the people tremble?
If a disasterormisfortune occurs in a city has not the Lordcaused it?
7 Surely the Lord Goddoes nothing
Without revealing His secret plan [of the judgment to come]
To His servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared! Who will not fear?
The Lord Godhas spoken [to the prophets]! Who can but prophesy?
9 Proclaim on the fortresses in Ashdod (Philistia) and on the citadels in the land of Egypt, and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see the great confusion within her and the oppressionsandabuse of authority in her midst.
10 For they do not know how to do right,” says the Lord, “these who store up violence and devastation [like treasures] in their strongholds.”
11 Therefore, thus says the Lord God,
“An adversary (Assyria), even one surrounding the land,
Shall pull down your strength from you
And your fortresses will be looted.”
12 Thus says the Lord,
“Just as the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion a couple of legs or a piece of the [sheep’s] ear [to prove to the owner that he has not stolen the animal],
So will the [remaining] children of Israel living in Samaria be snatched away
With the corner of a bed and [part of] the damask covering of a couch.
13 “Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”
Says the Lord God, the God of hosts,
14 “On that day when I punish Israel’s transgressions,
I shall also punish the altars of Bethel [with their golden calves];
And the horns of the altar shall be cut off
And fall to the ground.
15 “And I shall tear down the winter house with the summer house;
And the houses of ivory shall also perish
And the great houses shall come to an end,”
Says the Lord.