Witnesses against Israel 1 Brenton Hear ye this word, O house of Israel, which the Lord has spoken concerning you, and against the whole family whom I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying, BSB BSB: Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:
2 Brenton You especially have I known out of all the families of the earth: therefore will I take vengeance upon you for all your sins. BSB BSB: “Only you have I known from all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
3 Brenton Shall two walk together at all, if they do not know one another? BSB BSB: Can two walk together without agreeing where to go?
4 Brenton Will a lion roar out of his thicket if he has no prey? will a lion's whelp utter his voice at all out of his lair, if he have taken nothing? BSB BSB: Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl in his den if he has caught nothing?
5 Brenton Will a bird fall on the earth without a fowler? will a snare be taken up from the earth without having taken anything? BSB BSB: Does a bird land in a snare where no bait has been set? Does a trap spring from the ground when it has nothing to catch?
6 Brenton Shall the trumpet sound in the city, and the people not be alarmed? shall there be evil in a city which the Lord has not wrought? BSB BSB: If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
7 Brenton For the Lord God will do nothing, without revealing instruction to his servants the prophets. BSB BSB: Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.
8 Brenton A lion shall roar, and who will not be alarmed? the Lord God has spoken, and who will not prophesy? BSB BSB: The lion has roared—who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken—who will not prophesy?
9 Brenton Proclaim it to the regions among the Assyrians, and to the regions of Egypt, and say, Gather yourselves to the mountain of Samaria, and behold many wonderful things in the midst of it, and the oppression that is in it. BSB BSB: Proclaim to the citadels of Ashdod and to the citadels of Egypt: “Assemble on the mountains of Samaria; see the great unrest in the city and the acts of oppression in her midst.”
10 Brenton And she knew not what things would come against her, saith the Lord, even those that store up wrong and misery in their countries. BSB BSB: “For they know not how to do right,” declares the LORD. “They store up violence and destruction in their citadels.”
11 Brenton Therefore thus saith the Lord God; O Tyre, thy land shall be made desolate round about thee ; and he shall bring down thy strength out of thee, and thy countries shall be spoiled. BSB BSB: Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “An enemy will surround the land; he will pull down your strongholds and plunder your citadels.”
12 Brenton Thus saith the Lord; As when a shepherd rescues from the mouth of a lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall be drawn forth the children of Israel who dwell in Samaria in the presence of a foreign tribe, and in Damascus. BSB BSB: This is what the LORD says: “As the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites dwelling in Samaria will be rescued having just the corner of a bed or the cushion of a couch.
13 Brenton Hear, O ye priests, and testify to the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God Almighty. BSB BSB: Hear and testify against the house of Jacob, declares the Lord GOD, the God of Hosts.
14 Brenton For in the day wherein I shall take vengeance of the sins of Israel upon him, I will also take vengeance on the altars of Bæthel: and the horns of the altar shall be broken down, and they shall fall upon the ground. BSB BSB: On the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off, and they will fall to the ground.