Witnesses against Israel 1 UST You people of Israel, listen to this message that Yahweh has spoken against you. He is speaking against all of the descendants of the people whom he brought up out of the land of Egypt. He says this: 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 UST “From among all of the families of people on the earth, I chose only you to belong to me. That is why I must now punish you for all of the ways that you have sinned.” BSB BSB: “Only you have I known from all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
3 UST Two people do not travel together unless they have agreed to do that. BSB BSB: Can two walk together without agreeing where to go?
4 UST A lion does not roar in the forest unless it has caught an animal to eat, and a young lion does not growl in its den unless it has caught something. 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 UST A bird does not get caught in a trap on the ground unless someone has set a trap for it, and a trap does not spring up to catch{ an animal} if there is nothing to catch. 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 UST If someone blows{ an alarm} on a ram’s horn in a city, the people there become afraid, and if something terrible happens in a city, then Yahweh has done it. 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 UST In the same way, the Lord Yahweh does not do something unless he has first revealed his plans to his servants the prophets. BSB BSB: Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.
8 UST When a lion roars, everyone is afraid; similarly, when the Lord Yahweh speaks, the prophets must proclaim what he says. BSB BSB: The lion has roared—who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken—who will not prophesy?
9 UST { Yahweh says,}“Announce this to the rulers who live in the fortresses in the city of Ashdod and to the rulers who live in the fortresses in the land of Egypt. Say to them,‘Gather together on the hills around the city of Samaria, and see how the people there are panicking, and how the powerful people are oppressing the other people there.’” 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 UST Yahweh declares,“The people who live in Samaria do not know how to do what is right. They violently rob other people, and they fill their fortresses with the things that they steal.” BSB BSB: “For they know not how to do right,” declares the LORD. “They store up violence and destruction in their citadels.”
11 UST So this is what the Lord Yahweh says{ to them},“An enemy army will come and surround your land. They will tear down your fortifications, and they will carry away the valuable things in your fortresses.” 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 UST This is what Yahweh says,“When a lion attacks a sheep, sometimes a shepherd can grab from the lion only two legs of the sheep or a piece of its ear. Similarly, only a few of you people of Israel who live in Samaria will survive, along with only a side of a bed or a piece of a couch.” 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 UST The Lord Yahweh, the God who commands the armies of angels, declares,“Listen, and warn the descendants of Jacob: BSB BSB: Hear and testify against the house of Jacob, declares the Lord GOD, the God of Hosts.
14 UST Be aware that when I punish the people of Israel for the sins that they have committed, I will also destroy the altars at Bethel. I will cut off the horns that are on{ the corners of} the{ main} altar, and they will fall to 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.