Punishment of Israel’s Sins

9 “Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod,4

And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say:

‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria;

See great tumults in her midst,

And the 5oppressed within her.

10 For they fdo not know to do right,’

Says the Lord,

‘Who store up violence and 6robbery in their palaces.’ ”

11 Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“An adversary shall be all around the land;

He shall sap your strength from you,

And your palaces shall be plundered.”

12 Thus says the Lord:

“As a shepherd 7takes from the mouth of a lion

Two legs or a piece of an ear,

So shall the children of Israel be taken out

Who dwell in Samaria—

In the corner of a bed and 8on the edge of a couch!

13 Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”

Says the Lord God, the God of hosts,

14 “That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions,

I will also visit destruction on the altars of gBethel;

And the horns of the altar shall be cut off

And fall to the ground.

15 I will 9destroy hthe winter house along with ithe summer house;

The jhouses of ivory shall perish,

And the great houses shall have an end,”

Says the Lord.

4 Hear this word, you acows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria,

Who oppress the bpoor,

Who crush the needy,

Who say to 1your husbands, “Bring wine, let us cdrink!”

2 dThe Lord God has sworn by His holiness:

“Behold, the days shall come upon you

When He will take you away ewith fishhooks,

And your posterity with fishhooks.

3 fYou will go out through broken walls,

Each one straight ahead of her,

And you will 2be cast into Harmon,”

Says the Lord.

4 “Come gto Bethel and transgress,

At hGilgal multiply transgression;

iBring your sacrifices every morning,

jYour tithes every three 3days.

5 kOffer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,

Proclaim and announce lthe freewill offerings;

For this you love,

You children of Israel!”

Says the Lord God.

Israel Did Not Accept Correction

6 “Also I gave you 4cleanness of teeth in all your cities.

And lack of bread in all your places;

mYet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the Lord.

7 “I also withheld rain from you,

When there were still three months to the harvest.

I made it rain on one city,

I withheld rain from another city.

One part was rained upon,

And where it did not rain the part withered.

8 So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water,

But they were not satisfied;

Yet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the Lord.

9 “I nblasted you with blight and mildew.

When your gardens increased,

Your vineyards,

Your fig trees,

And your olive trees,

oThe locust devoured them;

Yet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the Lord.

10 “I sent among you a plague pafter the manner of Egypt;

Your young men I killed with a sword,

Along with your captive horses;

I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils;

Yet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the Lord.

11 “I overthrew some of you,

As God overthrew qSodom and Gomorrah,

And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning;

Yet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the Lord.

12 “Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel;

Because I will do this to you,

rPrepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

13 For behold,

He who forms mountains,

And creates the 5wind,

sWho declares to man what 6his thought is,

And makes the morning darkness,

tWho treads the high places of the earth—

uThe Lord God of hosts is His name.

A Lament for Israel

5 Hear this word which I atake up against you, a lamentation, O house of Israel:

2 The virgin of Israel has fallen;

She will rise no more.

She lies forsaken on her land;

There is no one to raise her up.

3 For thus says the Lord God:

“The city that goes out by a thousand

Shall have a hundred left,

And that which goes out by a hundred

Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”

A Call to Repentance

4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:

b“Seek Me cand live;

5 But do not seek dBethel,

Nor enter Gilgal,

Nor pass over to eBeersheba;

For Gilgal shall surely go into captivity,

And fBethel shall come to nothing.

6 gSeek the Lord and live,

Lest He break out like fire in the house of Joseph,

And devour it,

With no one to quench it in Bethel—

7 You who hturn justice to wormwood,

And lay righteousness to rest in the earth!”

8 He made the iPleiades and Orion;

He turns the shadow of death into morning

jAnd makes the day dark as night;

He kcalls for the waters of the sea

And pours them out on the face of the earth;

lThe Lord is His name.

9 He 1rains ruin upon the strong,

So that fury comes upon the fortress.

10 mThey hate the one who rebukes in the gate,

And they nabhor the one who speaks uprightly.

11 oTherefore, because you 2tread down the poor

And take grain 3taxes from him,

Though pyou have built houses of hewn stone,

Yet you shall not dwell in them;

You have planted 4pleasant vineyards,

But you shall not drink wine from them.

12 For I qknow your manifold transgressions

And your mighty sins:

rAfflicting the just and taking bribes;

sDiverting the poor from justice at the gate.

13 Therefore tthe prudent keep silent at that time,

For it is an evil time.

14 Seek good and not evil,

That you may live;

So the Lord God of hosts will be with you,

uAs you have spoken.

15 vHate evil, love good;

Establish justice in the gate.

wIt may be that the Lord God of hosts

Will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.