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“Now then, I will crush you as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.
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The swift will not escape, the strong will not muster their strength, and the warrior will not save his life.
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Even the bravest warriors will flee naked on that day,” declares the class="small-caps" >Lord.
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Witnesses Summoned Against Israel
Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the class="small-caps" >Lord has spoken against you—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:
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“You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”
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Does a lion roar in the thicket when it has no prey? Does it growl in its den when it has caught nothing?
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Does 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?
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When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the class="small-caps" >Lord caused it?
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The lion has roared— who will not fear? The Sovereign class="small-caps" >Lord has spoken— who can but prophesy?
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Proclaim 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.”
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Therefore this is what the Sovereign class="small-caps" >Lord says: “An enemy will overrun your land, pull down your strongholds and plunder your fortresses.”
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This is what the class="small-caps" >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 fabric from a couch.”
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“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.
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I 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 class="small-caps" >Lord.
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Israel Has Not Returned to God
Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”
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The Sovereign class="small-caps" >Lord has sworn by his holiness: “The time will surely come when you will be taken away with hooks, the last of you with fishhooks.
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You will each go straight out through breaches in the wall, and you will be cast out toward Harmon,” declares the class="small-caps" >Lord.
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“Go to Bethel and sin; go to Gilgal and sin yet more. Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tithes every three years.
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Burn leavened bread as a thank offering and brag about your freewill offerings— boast about them, you Israelites, for this is what you love to do,” declares the Sovereign class="small-caps" >Lord.
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“I gave you empty stomachs in every city and lack of bread in every town, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the class="small-caps" >Lord.
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“I also withheld rain from you when the harvest was still three months away. I sent rain on one town, but withheld it from another. One field had rain; another had none and dried up.
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People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the class="small-caps" >Lord.
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“Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards, destroying them with blight and mildew. Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the class="small-caps" >Lord.
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“I sent plagues among you as I did to Egypt. I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the class="small-caps" >Lord.
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“I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the class="small-caps" >Lord.
