1 Authority of the Prophet’s Message 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 (Gen. 18:19; Ex. 19:5, 6; Deut. 7:6; Ps. 147:19) only have I known of all the families of the earth; Jer. 14:10; Ezek. 20:36; Dan. 9:12; Matt. 11:22; (Rom. 2:9) 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? Is. 45:7 If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?
7 Surely the Lord God does nothing, Unless Gen. 6:13; 18:17; (Jer. 23:22); Dan. 9:22; (John 15:15) He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken! Jer. 20:9; (Mic. 3:8); Acts 4:20;1 Cor. 9:16 Who can but prophesy?
9 Punishment of Israel’s Sins “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 Ps. 14:4; Jer. 4:22; Amos 5:7; 6:12 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 lion Two legs or a piece of an ear, So shall the children of Israel be taken out Who 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,
14 “That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also visit destruction on the altars of 2 Kin. 23:15; Hos. 10:5–8, 14, 15; Amos 4:4 Bethel; And the horns of the altar shall be cut off And fall to the ground.
15 I will destroy Jer. 36:22 the winter house along with Judg. 3:20 the summer house; The 1 Kin. 22:39; Ps. 45:8 houses of ivory shall perish, And the great houses shall have an end,” Says the Lord .