1 Hear this word {davar: prophetic warning} that the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Judge} has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying—
2 Only you I {YHWH, Divine Judge} have known of all the families {mishpakhoth: clans} of the earth; therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities {avonoteikhem: moral failures}.
3 Do two {shenayim: paired companions} travel together {yachdav: shared direction} unless they have first agreed?
4 Will a lion {aryeh: symbol of strength} roar in the forest when he has no prey? Will a young lion give his voice from his den {meonah: secure dwelling} unless he has taken anything?
5 Will a bird fall upon a snare {pach: entangling device} on the earth when there is no trap {mokesh: hidden bait device} set for it? Will a snare ascend from the ground if it has caught nothing?
6 If a trumpet {shofar: warning horn} is blown in a city, do the people not tremble? If disaster comes to a city, has the LORD {YHWH, Just Judge} not done it?
7 For the Lord GOD {YHWH Adonai, Sovereign Revealer} will not do a thing unless He has revealed His secret {sodo: confidential counsel} to His servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD {Adonai YHWH, Sovereign Judge} has spoken; who will not prophesy {yinnave: Speak Forth}?
9 Proclaim upon the palaces {armnot: fortified residences} in Ashdod and upon the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria, and see the many tumults {mehumot: violent disturbances} within her and the oppressed in her midst.”
10 “And they did not know how to do right {nekhokhah: uprightness},” declares the LORD {YHWH, Righteous Judge}, “those who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.”
11 Therefore, thus says the Lord GOD {YHWH Adonai, Sovereign Judge}: “An adversary will surround the land and bring down your strength {uzzekh: power, might} from you, and your palaces will be plundered.”
12 Thus says the LORD {YHWH, Covenant Judge}: Just as the shepherd {roeh: flock keeper} rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs or a fragment of an ear, so the sons of Israel dwelling in Samaria will be rescued—in the corner of a bed and in Damascus on a couch.
13 Hear and testify {veha'idu: serve as witnesses} against the house of Jacob, declares the Lord GOD {Adonai YHWH, Covenant Arbiter}, the God of hosts.
14 For on the day I {YHWH, Divine Judge} punish Israel for its transgressions, I will also punish the altars of Bethel {beit-El: house of God}, and the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.
15 And I will strike down the winter house along with the summer house, and the houses of ivory {shen: tusk material} shall perish, and the great houses shall come to their end, declares the LORD {YHWH, Supreme Judge}.