Warning to Israel
3 Listen to this word that the Lord has spoken against you, ·people [L sons; T children] of Israel, against the whole family he brought out of Egypt.
2 “I have ·chosen [known; C selected for a special relationship] only you
out of all the families of the earth,
so I will punish you
for all your sins.”
3 ·Two people will not [L Can two…?] walk together
unless they have agreed ·to do so [or to meet; or on the direction].
4 ·A lion in the forest does not [L Does a lion in the forest…?] roar
unless it has caught ·an animal [L its prey];
·it does not [L does a young lion…?] growl in its den
when it has caught nothing.
5 ·A bird will not [L Does a bird…?] fall into a trap
where there is no bait;
·the trap will not [L does the trap…?] spring shut
if there is nothing to catch.
6 When a trumpet ·blows a warning [L sounds] in a city,
[L do not…?] the people tremble.
When ·trouble [disaster] comes to a city,
·the Lord has [L has not the Lord…?] caused it.
7 Before the Lord God does anything,
he tells his plans to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared [C a symbol of coming judgment]!
Who wouldn’t be afraid?
The Lord God has spoken.
Who will not prophesy?
9 Announce this to the ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces] of Ashdod [C a city in Philistia]
and to the ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces] of Egypt:
“·Come to [Assemble yourselves on] the mountains of Samaria,
where you will see great ·confusion [chaos; tumult]
and ·people hurting others [oppression in her midst].”
10 “The people don’t know how to do what is right,” says the Lord.
“Their ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces] are filled with ·treasures they took by force from others [the spoils of violence and robbery].”
11 So this is what the Lord God says:
“An enemy will ·take over [overrun; or encircle] the land
and pull down your strongholds;
he will ·take the treasures out of [plunder] your ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces].”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“A shepherd might save from a lion’s mouth
only two leg bones or a scrap of an ear of his sheep.
In the same way only a few Israelites in Samaria will be saved—
·people who now sit on their beds
and on their couches [or only a corner of a bed or a part of a couch will be saved].”
13 “Listen and ·be witnesses [testify] against the family of Jacob [C Israel],” says the Lord God, the God ·All-Powerful [Almighty; of Heaven’s Armies; T of hosts].
14 “·When [L On the day] I punish Israel for their sins,
I will also destroy the altars at Bethel [C an important worship center in Israel; 1 Kin. 12:25–33].
The ·corners [L horns] of the altar will be cut off,
and they will fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house,
together with the summer house.
The houses ·decorated with [or filled with; L of] ivory will be destroyed,
and the great houses will ·come to an end [or be swept away],” says the Lord.