Word from the Man of God
3 O people of Israel, hear this word which the Lord has spoken against you and against the whole family which He brought up from the land of Egypt. 2 “You are the only ones I have chosen among all the families of the earth. So I must punish you for all your sins.” 3 Do two men walk together unless they have made an agreement? 4 Does a lion make noise among the trees when he has no food? Does a young lion cry out from his home if he has not caught anything? 5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no food to tempt it? Does a trap jump up from the ground when it does not catch anything? 6 Are not the people afraid when a horn is blown in a city? When trouble comes to a city, has not the Lord caused it? 7 For sure the Lord does not do anything without making His plan known to His servants who speak for Him. 8 The lion has made a noise! Who will not be afraid? The Lord God has spoken! Who can keep from speaking His Word?
Israel Will Be Punished for Its Sin
9 Say to the people who live in the strong cities of Ashdod and Egypt, “Gather together on the mountains of Samaria. See all the trouble within her and how her people suffer. 10 They do not know how to do what is right,” says the Lord. “They store up in their strong cities what they have fought for and robbed.”
11 So the Lord God says, “Those who hate you will gather around the land. They will pull down your strong-places and rob your strong cities.” 12 The Lord says, “As the shepherd saves from the lion’s mouth just two legs or a piece of an ear, so will the people of Israel living in Samaria be saved, with the corner of a bed and a part of a cover. 13 Hear and speak against the family of Jacob,” says the Lord God, the God of All. 14 “On the day I punish Israel for her sins, I will punish the altars of Bethel. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground. 15 I will destroy the winter house together with the summer house. The houses of ivory will be destroyed, and the beautiful houses will come to an end,” says the Lord.