Witnesses Summoned Against Israel
1 Hear this word, people of Israel, the word theLordhas spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:
2 “You only have I chosen
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
for all your sins.”
3 Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
4 Does a lion roar in the thicket
when it has no prey?
Does it growl in its den
when it has caught nothing?
5 Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
when no bait is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
if it has not caught anything?
6 When a trumpet sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When disaster comes to a city,
has not theLordcaused it?
7 Surely the SovereignLorddoes nothing
without revealing his plan
to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared—
who will not fear?
The SovereignLordhas spoken—
who can but prophesy?
9 Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod
and to the fortresses of Egypt:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;
see the great unrest within her
and the oppression among her people.”
10 “They do not know how to do right,” declares theLord,
“who store up in their fortresses
what they have plundered and looted.”
11 Therefore this is what the SovereignLordsays:
“An enemy will overrun your land,
pull down your strongholds
and plunder your fortresses.”
12 This is what theLordsays:
“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth
only two leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued,
with only the head of a bed
# and a piece of fabricfrom a couch.”
13 “Hear this and testify against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, theLordGod Almighty.
14 “On the day I punish Israel for her sins,
I will destroy the altars of Bethel;
the horns of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house
along with the summer house;
the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed
and the mansions will be demolished,”
declares theLord.
—https://d1b84921e69nmq.cloudfront.net/3/32k/AMO/3-ff9c61877be7ceb39bf7be127bfb0246.mp3?version_id=111—