Beginning

“The Lord roars^(F) from Zion
    and thunders^(G) from Jerusalem;^(H)
the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
    and the top of Carmel^(I) withers.”^(J)

“For three sins of Damascus,^(K)
    even for four, I will not relent.^(L)
Because she threshed Gilead
    with sledges having iron teeth,
⁴ I will send fire^(M) on the house of Hazael^(N)
    that will consume the fortresses^(O) of Ben-Hadad.^(P)
5 I will break down the gate^(Q) of Damascus;
    I will destroy the king who is in^[b] the Valley of Aven^[c]
and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.^(R)
    The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,^(S)”
says the Lord.^(T)

“For three sins of Gaza,^(U)
    even for four, I will not relent.^(V)
Because she took captive whole communities
    and sold them to Edom,^(W)
7 I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
    that will consume her fortresses.
⁸ I will destroy the king^[d] of Ashdod^(X)
    and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand^(Y) against Ekron,
    till the last of the Philistines^(Z) are dead,”^(AA)
says the Sovereign Lord.^(AB)

“For three sins of Tyre,^(AC)
    even for four, I will not relent.^(AD)
Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,
    disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,^(AE)
10 I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
    that will consume her fortresses.^(AF)”

“For three sins of Edom,^(AG)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued his brother with a sword^(AH)
    and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
    and his fury flamed unchecked,^(AI)
12 I will send fire on Teman^(AJ)
    that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.^(AK)”

“For three sins of Ammon,^(AL)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he ripped open the pregnant women^(AM) of Gilead
    in order to extend his borders,
¹⁴ I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah^(AN)
    that will consume^(AO) her fortresses
amid war cries^(AP) on the day of battle,
    amid violent winds^(AQ) on a stormy day.
¹⁵ Her king^[e] will go into exile,
    he and his officials together,^(AR)”
says the Lord.^(AS)

“For three sins of Moab,^(AT)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes^(AU)
    the bones of Edom’s king,
² I will send fire on Moab
    that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.^[f](AV)
Moab will go down in great tumult
    amid war cries^(AW) and the blast of the trumpet.^(AX)
3 I will destroy her ruler^(AY)
    and kill all her officials with him,”^(AZ)
says the Lord.^(BA)

“For three sins of Judah,^(BB)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law^(BC) of the Lord
    and have not kept his decrees,^(BD)
because they have been led astray^(BE) by false gods,^[g](BF)
    the gods^[h] their ancestors followed,^(BG)
5 I will send fire^(BH) on Judah
    that will consume the fortresses^(BI) of Jerusalem.^(BJ)”

“For three sins of Israel,
    even for four, I will not relent.^(BK)
They sell the innocent for silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals.^(BL)
7 They trample on the heads of the poor
    as on the dust of the ground
    and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
    and so profane my holy name.^(BM)
8 They lie down beside every altar
    on garments taken in pledge.^(BN)
In the house of their god
    they drink wine^(BO) taken as fines.^(BP)

⁹ “Yet I destroyed the Amorites^(BQ) before them,
    though they were tall^(BR) as the cedars
    and strong as the oaks.^(BS)
I destroyed their fruit above
    and their roots^(BT) below.
¹⁰ I brought you up out of Egypt^(BU)
    and led^(BV) you forty years in the wilderness^(BW)
    to give you the land of the Amorites.^(BX)

¹¹ “I also raised up prophets^(BY) from among your children
    and Nazirites^(BZ) from among your youths.
Is this not true, people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
¹² “But you made the Nazirites drink wine
    and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.^(CA)

¹³ “Now then, I will crush you
    as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.^(CB)
14 The swift will not escape,^(CC)
    the strong^(CD) will not muster their strength,
    and the warrior will not save his life.^(CE)
15 The archer^(CF) will not stand his ground,
    the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
    and the horseman^(CG) will not save his life.^(CH)
16 Even the bravest warriors^(CI)
    will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.

² “You only have I chosen^(CL)
    of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish^(CM) you
    for all your sins.^(CN)”

³ Do two walk together
    unless they have agreed to do so?
⁴ Does a lion roar^(CO) in the thicket
    when it has no prey?^(CP)
Does it growl in its den
    when it has caught nothing?
⁵ Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
    when no bait^(CQ) is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
    if it has not caught anything?
⁶ When a trumpet^(CR) sounds in a city,
    do not the people tremble?
When disaster^(CS) comes to a city,
    has not the Lord caused it?^(CT)

⁷ Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
    without revealing his plan^(CU)
    to his servants the prophets.^(CV)

⁸ The lion^(CW) has roared^(CX)—
    who will not fear?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
    who can but prophesy?^(CY)

⁹ Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod^(CZ)
    and to the fortresses of Egypt:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;^(DA)
    see the great unrest within her
    and the oppression among her people.”

¹⁰ “They do not know how to do right,^(DB)” declares the Lord,
    “who store up in their fortresses^(DC)
    what they have plundered^(DD) and looted.”

“An enemy will overrun your land,
    pull down your strongholds
    and plunder your fortresses.^(DE)”

“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s^(DF) mouth
    only two leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued,
    with only the head of a bed
    and a piece of fabric^[i] from a couch.^[j](DG)”

¹⁴ “On the day I punish^(DI) Israel for her sins,
    I will destroy the altars of Bethel;^(DJ)
the horns^(DK) of the altar will be cut off
    and fall to the ground.
¹⁵ I will tear down the winter house^(DL)
    along with the summer house;^(DM)
the houses adorned with ivory^(DN) will be destroyed
    and the mansions^(DO) will be demolished,^(DP)”
declares the Lord.^(DQ)

⁶ “I gave you empty stomachs in every city
    and lack of bread in every town,
    yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.^(EI)

⁷ “I also withheld^(EJ) rain from you
    when the harvest was still three months away.
I sent rain on one town,
    but withheld it from another.^(EK)
One field had rain;
    another had none and dried up.
⁸ People staggered from town to town for water^(EL)
    but did not get enough^(EM) to drink,
    yet you have not returned^(EN) to me,”
declares the Lord.^(EO)

⁹ “Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,
    destroying them with blight and mildew.^(EP)
Locusts^(EQ) devoured your fig and olive trees,^(ER)
    yet you have not returned^(ES) to me,”
declares the Lord.

¹⁰ “I sent plagues^(ET) among you
    as I did to Egypt.^(EU)
I killed your young men^(EV) with the sword,
    along with your captured horses.
I filled your nostrils with the stench^(EW) of your camps,
    yet you have not returned to me,”^(EX)
declares the Lord.^(EY)

¹¹ “I overthrew some of you
    as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.^(EZ)
You were like a burning stick^(FA) snatched from the fire,
    yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.^(FB)

¹² “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel,
    and because I will do this to you, Israel,
    prepare to meet your God.”

¹³ He who forms the mountains,^(FC)
    who creates the wind,^(FD)
    and who reveals his thoughts^(FE) to mankind,
who turns dawn to darkness,
    and treads on the heights of the earth^(FF)—
    the Lord God Almighty is his name.^(FG)

² “Fallen is Virgin^(FI) Israel,
    never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
    with no one to lift her up.^(FJ)”

“Your city that marches out a thousand strong
    will have only a hundred left;
your town that marches out a hundred strong
    will have only ten left.^(FK)”

“Seek^(FL) me and live;^(FM)
5     do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,^(FN)
    do not journey to Beersheba.^(FO)
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
    and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.^[n](FP)”
⁶ Seek^(FQ) the Lord and live,^(FR)
    or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;^(FS)
it will devour them,
    and Bethel^(FT) will have no one to quench it.^(FU)

⁷ There are those who turn justice into bitterness^(FV)
    and cast righteousness^(FW) to the ground.^(FX)

⁸ He who made the Pleiades and Orion,^(FY)
    who turns midnight into dawn^(FZ)
    and darkens day into night,^(GA)
who calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out over the face of the land—
    the Lord is his name.^(GB)
9 With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
    and brings the fortified city to ruin.^(GC)

¹⁰ There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court^(GD)
    and detest the one who tells the truth.^(GE)

¹¹ You levy a straw tax on the poor^(GF)
    and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,^(GG)
    you will not live in them;^(GH)
though you have planted lush vineyards,
    you will not drink their wine.^(GI)
12 For I know how many are your offenses
    and how great your sins.^(GJ)

There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes^(GK)
    and deprive the poor^(GL) of justice in the courts.^(GM)
13 Therefore the prudent keep quiet^(GN) in such times,
    for the times are evil.^(GO)

¹⁴ Seek good, not evil,
    that you may live.^(GP)
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
    just as you say he is.
¹⁵ Hate evil,^(GQ) love good;^(GR)
    maintain justice in the courts.^(GS)
Perhaps^(GT) the Lord God Almighty will have mercy^(GU)
    on the remnant^(GV) of Joseph.

“There will be wailing^(GW) in all the streets^(GX)
    and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers^(GY) will be summoned to weep
    and the mourners to wail.
¹⁷ There will be wailing^(GZ) in all the vineyards,
    for I will pass through^(HA) your midst,”
says the Lord.^(HB)

²¹ “I hate,^(HK) I despise your religious festivals;^(HL)
    your assemblies^(HM) are a stench to me.
²² Even though you bring me burnt offerings^(HN) and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them.^(HO)
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
    I will have no regard for them.^(HP)
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.^(HQ)
24 But let justice^(HR) roll on like a river,
    righteousness^(HS) like a never-failing stream!^(HT)

²⁵ “Did you bring me sacrifices^(HU) and offerings
    forty years^(HV) in the wilderness, people of Israel?
²⁶ You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
    the pedestal of your idols,^(HW)
    the star of your god^[o]—
    which you made for yourselves.
²⁷ Therefore I will send you into exile^(HX) beyond Damascus,”
    says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.^(HY)