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Witnesses Summoned Against Israel

¹ Hear this word the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel-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 he has no prey?
Does he growl in his den
when he has caught nothing?

⁵ Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground
where no snare has been set?
Does a trap spring up from the earth
when there is nothing to catch?

⁶ When a trumpet sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When disaster comes to a city,
has not the LORD caused it?

⁷ Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing
without revealing his plan
to his servants the prophets.

⁸ The lion has roared-
who will not fear?
The Sovereign LORD has 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 the LORD ,
"who hoard plunder and loot in their fortresses."

¹¹ Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
"An enemy will overrun the land;
he will pull down your strongholds
and plunder your fortresses."

¹² This is what the LORD says:
"As a shepherd saves from the lion's mouth
only two leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so will the Israelites be saved,
those who sit in Samaria
on the edge of their beds
and in Damascus on their couches. "

¹³ "Hear this and testify against the house of Jacob," declares the Lord, the LORD God 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 the LORD .