Witnesses Summoned Against Israel
1Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:
2“You only have I chosen
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
for all your sins.”
3Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
4Does a lion roar in the thicket
when it has no prey?
Does it growl in its den
when it has caught nothing?
5Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
when no bait is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
if it has not caught anything?
6When a trumpet sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When disaster comes to a city,
has not the Lord caused it?
7Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
without revealing his plan
to his servants the prophets.
8The lion has roared—
who will not fear?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
who can but prophesy?
9Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod
and to the fortresses of Egypt:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;
see the great unrest within her
and the oppression among her people.”
10“They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,
“who store up in their fortresses
what they have plundered and looted.”
11Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“An enemy will overrun your land,
pull down your strongholds
and plunder your fortresses.”
12This is what the Lord says:
“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s 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 fabric3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. from a couch.3:12 Or Israelites be rescued, / those who sit in Samaria / on the edge of their beds / and in Damascus on their couches.”
13“Hear this and testify against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.
14“On the day I punish Israel for her sins,
I will destroy the altars of Bethel;
the horns of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15I will tear down the winter house
along with the summer house;
the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed
and the mansions will be demolished,”
declares the Lord.
責備以色列人
1「以色列人啊，
要聽耶和華責備你們的話，
責備我從埃及領出來的整個民族的話，
2『世上萬族之中，我只揀選了你們，
所以我要因你們的罪惡而懲罰你們。』」
3若非相約，
二人怎會同行呢？
4若非捕到獵物，
獅子怎會在林中咆哮呢？
若非獵獲食物，
猛獅怎會在洞中吼叫呢？
5若非設下誘餌，
鳥兒怎會落入圈套？
若非捕獲什麼，
圈套怎會收起來？
6若城中響起號角，
居民豈不恐懼顫抖？
若災禍降臨城中，
豈不是耶和華的作為？
7的確，主耶和華不向祂的僕人——眾先知顯明祂的計劃，
就不會採取任何行動。
8獅子吼叫，誰不懼怕呢？
主耶和華已發言，誰能不傳講呢？
9要向亞實突和埃及的城堡宣告：
「你們要聚集到撒瑪利亞的山上，
看看城中的混亂和暴虐之事。
10他們不知正道，強取豪奪，
把擄物囤積在他們的城堡中。
這是耶和華說的。」
11所以，主耶和華說：
「敵人要圍攻此地，
攻破你們的防守，
搶掠你們的城堡。」
12耶和華說：
「牧人從獅口中救羊，
只能奪回兩條腿和一塊耳朵。
同樣，住在撒瑪利亞的以色列人被救回的時候，
也僅剩一角床榻和一片臥椅。」
13主——萬軍之上帝耶和華說：
「你們要聽這話，去警告雅各家。
14我追討以色列人的罪時，
要摧毀伯特利的祭壇，
將祭壇的角砍落在地。
15我要拆毀過冬和避暑的房屋，
破壞象牙裝飾的宮殿，
推倒許多宏偉的樓宇。
這是耶和華說的。」
