| 3:1 | Authority of the Prophet's MessageThe Condemnation of Samaria Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying: |
| 3:2 | You only have I known of all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. |
| 3:3 | Can two walk together, unless they are agreed? |
| 3:4 | Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing? |
| 3:5 | Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no trap for it? Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all? |
| 3:6 | If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the LORD have done it? |
| 3:7 | Surely the Lord GOD does nothing, Unless He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets. |
| 3:8 | A lion has roared! Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken! Who can but prophesy? Punishment of Israel's Sins |
| 3:9 | Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, 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 oppressed within her. |
| 3:10 | For they do not know to do right,' Says the LORD, "Who store up violence and robbery in their palaces."' |
| 3:11 | 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." |
| 3:12 | Thus says the LORD:"As a shepherd takes 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 on the edge of a couch! |
| 3:13 | Hear and testify against the house of Jacob," Says the Lord GOD, the God of hosts, |
| 3:14 | That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will also visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; And the horns of the altar shall be cut off And fall to the ground. |
| 3:15 | I will destroy the winter house along with the summer house; The houses of ivory shall perish, And the great houses shall have an end," Says the LORD. |