| English Standard Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: | 1Listen to this message that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel—against the entire family I rescued from Egypt: |
| 2“You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. | 2“From among all the families on the earth, I have been intimate with you alone. That is why I must punish you for all your sins.” Witnesses against Guilty Israel |
| 3“Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? | 3Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction? |
| 4Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing? | 4Does a lion ever roar in a thicket without first finding a victim? Does a young lion growl in its den without first catching its prey? |
| 5Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth, when there is no trap for it? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing? | 5Does a bird ever get caught in a trap that has no bait? Does a trap spring shut when there’s nothing to catch? |
| 6Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it? | 6When the ram’s horn blows a warning, shouldn’t the people be alarmed? Does disaster come to a city unless the LORD has planned it? |
| 7“For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. | 7Indeed, the Sovereign LORD never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets. |
| 8The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?” | 8The lion has roared— so who isn’t frightened? The Sovereign LORD has spoken— so who can refuse to proclaim his message? |
| 9Proclaim to the strongholds in Ashdod and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt, and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see the great tumults within her, and the oppressed in her midst.” | 9Announce this to the leaders of Philistia and to the great ones of Egypt: “Take your seats now on the hills around Samaria, and witness the chaos and oppression in Israel.” |
| 10“They do not know how to do right,” declares the LORD, “those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.” | 10“My people have forgotten how to do right,” says the LORD. “Their fortresses are filled with wealth taken by theft and violence. |
| 11Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: “An adversary shall surround the land and bring down your defenses from you, and your strongholds shall be plundered.” | 11Therefore,” says the Sovereign LORD, “an enemy is coming! He will surround them and shatter their defenses. Then he will plunder all their fortresses.” |
| 12Thus says the LORD: “As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed. | 12This is what the LORD says: “A shepherd who tries to rescue a sheep from a lion’s mouth will recover only two legs or a piece of an ear. So it will be for the Israelites in Samaria lying on luxurious beds, and for the people of Damascus reclining on couches. |
| 13“Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob,” declares the Lord GOD, the God of hosts, | 13“Now listen to this, and announce it throughout all Israel, ” says the Lord, the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies. |
| 14“that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions, I will punish the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground. | 14“On the very day I punish Israel for its sins, I will destroy the pagan altars at Bethel. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground. |
| 15I will strike the winter house along with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall come to an end,” declares the LORD. | 15And I will destroy the beautiful homes of the wealthy— their winter mansions and their summer houses, too— all their palaces filled with ivory,” says the LORD. |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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