Dual PanelIsrael's sins and threatened punishment
1LISTEN, Israelites, to these words that the LORD addresses to you, to the whole nation which he brought up from Egypt:
2You alone I have cared for among all the nations of the world; that is why I shall punish you for all your wrongdoing.
3Do two people travel together unless they have so agreed?
4Does a lion roar in the thicket if he has no prey? Does a young lion growl in his den unless he has caught something?
5Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground if no bait is set for it? Does a trap spring from the ground and take nothing?
6If a trumpet sounds in the city, are not the people alarmed? If disaster strikes a city, is it not the work of the LORD?
7Indeed, the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
8The lion has roared; who is not frightened? The Lord GOD has spoken; who will not prophesy?
9Upon the palaces of Ashdod and upon the palaces of Egypt, make this proclamation: “Assemble on the hills of Samaria, look at the tumult seething among her people, at the oppression in her midst;
10what do they care for straight dealing who hoard in their palaces the gains of violence and plundering?” This is the word of the LORD.
11Therefore these are the words of the Lord GOD: An enemy will encompass the land; your stronghold will be thrown down and your palaces sacked.
12These are the words of the LORD: As a shepherd rescues from the jaws of a lion a pair of shin-bones or the tip of an ear, so will the Israelites who live in Samaria be rescued, who repose on the finest beds and on divans from Damascus.
13Listen and testify against the descendants of Jacob. This is the word of the Lord GOD, the God of Hosts.
14On the day when I deal with Israel for their crimes, I shall deal with the altars of Bethel: the horns of the altar will be hacked off and fall to the ground.
15I shall break down both winter houses and summer residences; the houses adorned with ivory will perish, and great houses will be no more. This is the word of the LORD.