1Listen to this message that the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel—against the entire family I rescued from Egypt:

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

3Can two people walk together

without agreeing on the direction?

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 ever get caught in a trap

that has no bait?

Does a trap spring shut

when there’s nothing to catch?

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?

7Indeed, the Sovereign LORD never does anything

until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.

8The lion has roared—

so who isn’t frightened?

The Sovereign LORD has spoken—

so who can refuse to proclaim his message?

9Announce this to the leaders of Philistiaa

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“My people have forgotten how to do right,”

says the LORD.

“Their fortresses are filled with wealth

taken by theft and violence.

11Therefore,” says the Sovereign LORD,

“an enemy is coming!

He will surround them and shatter their defenses.

Then he will plunder all their fortresses.”

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.b

13“Now listen to this, and announce it throughout all Israel,c” says the Lord, the LORD God of Heaven’s Armies.

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.

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.