| Holman Christian Standard Bible | International Standard Version |
| 1Listen to this message that the LORD has spoken against you, Israelites, against the entire clan that I brought from the land of Egypt: | 1"Listen to this message that the LORD has spoken about you, people of Israel. It concerns the entire family that I brought from the land of Egypt: |
| 2I have known only you out of all the clans of the earth; therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities. | 2You alone have I known from among all of the families of mankind; therefore I will hold you accountable for all your iniquities.'" |
| 3Can two walk together without agreeing to meet? | 3"Will a couple walk in unity without having met? |
| 4Does a lion roar in the forest when it has no prey? Does a young lion growl from its lair unless it has captured something? | 4Will a lion roar in the forest without having found its prey? Will a young lion cry from its den without having caught anything? |
| 5Does a bird land in a trap on the ground if there is no bait for it? Does a trap spring from the ground when it has caught nothing? | 5Does a bird fall into a snare on the ground without any bait in the trap? Will a trap snap shut when there is nothing to catch? |
| 6If a ram's horn is blown in a city, aren't people afraid? If a disaster occurs in a city, hasn't the LORD done it? | 6And when an alarm sounds in the city, the people will tremble, won't they? If there is trouble in a city, the LORD has brought it about, has he not?" |
| 7Indeed, the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His counsel to His servants the prophets. | 7"Truly the Lord GOD will do nothing he has mentioned without revealing his purposes to his servants the prophets. |
| 8A lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who will not prophesy? | 8A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who will not prophesy? |
| 9Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod and on the citadels in the land of Egypt: Assemble on the mountains of Samaria and see the great turmoil in the city and the acts of oppression within it. | 9Announce this in the fortified citadels of Ashdod, and in the fortified citadels of the land of Egypt. Tell them, 'Gather together on the mountains of Samaria; look at the great misery among the citadels, along with the oppression within Egypt.' |
| 10The people are incapable of doing right-- this is the LORD's declaration-- those who store up violence and destruction in their citadels. | 10Because they do not know how to act right," declares the LORD, "they are filling their strongholds with treasures that they took from others by violence into their fortified citadels." |
| 11Therefore, the Lord GOD says: An enemy will surround the land; he will destroy your strongholds and plunder your citadels. | 11Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: "An enemy will surround the land. He will pull down your defenses, and plunder your fortified citadels." |
| 12The LORD says: As the shepherd snatches two legs or a piece of an ear from the lion's mouth, so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be rescued with only the corner of a bed or the cushion of a couch. | 12This is what the LORD says: "Just as a shepherd might save from the lion's mouth only two leg bones or a scrap of an ear, the Israelis will be saved in a similar manner— those in Samaria who sit on the remains of their broken beds, and those in Damascus who lie on the edge of their couches." |
| 13Listen and testify against the house of Jacob-- this is the declaration of the Lord GOD, the God of Hosts. | 13"Listen and testify against the house of Jacob," declares the Lord GOD, the God of the Heavenly Armies, |
| 14I will punish the altars of Bethel on the day I punish Israel for its crimes; the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground. | 14"because on that day I will lay out the charges against Israel. I will also bring judgment upon the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off and will fall to the ground. |
| 15I will demolish the winter house and the summer house; the houses inlaid with ivory will be destroyed, and the great houses will come to an end. This is the LORD's declaration. | 15I will wreck both the winter house and the summer house, and the ivory houses will fall. These palaces will surely fall," declares the LORD. |
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