1 Hear this word which the LORD has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire family which He brought up from the land of Egypt:
Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
Does a young lion growl from his den unless he has captured something?
Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all?
If a calamity occurs in a city has not the LORD done it?
Unless He reveals His secret counsel
To His servants the prophets.
The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy?
“An enemy, even one surrounding the land,
Will pull down your strength from you
And your citadels will be looted.”
“Just as the shepherd snatches from the lion’s mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear,
So will the sons of Israel dwelling in Samaria be snatched away —
With the corner of a bed and the cover of a couch!
Declares the Lord GOD, the God of hosts.
I will also punish the altars of Bethel;
The horns of the altar will be cut off
And they will fall to the ground.
The houses of ivory will also perish
And the great houses will come to an end,”
Declares the LORD.