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New International Version (NIV) |
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1 Listen to this, Israel. God is calling you to account - and I mean all of you, everyone connected with the family that he delivered out of Egypt. Listen!
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1 Hear this word the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel--against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:
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2 "Out of all the families on earth, I picked you. Therefore, because of your special calling, I'm holding you responsible for all your sins."
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2 "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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3 Do two people walk hand in hand if they aren't going to the same place?
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3 Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?
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4 Does a lion roar in the forest if there's no carcass to devour? Does a young lion growl with pleasure if he hasn't caught his supper?
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4 Does a lion roar in the thicket when he has no prey? Does he growl in his den when he has caught nothing?
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5 Does a bird fall to the ground if it hasn't been hit with a stone? Does a trap spring shut if nothing trips it?
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5 Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground where no snare has been set? Does a trap spring up from the earth when there is nothing to catch?
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6 When the alarm goes off in the city, aren't people alarmed? And when disaster strikes the city, doesn't God stand behind it?
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6 When a trumpet sounds in a city, do not the people tremble? When disaster comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
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7 The fact is, God, the Master, does nothing without first telling his prophets the whole story.
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7 Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
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8 The lion has roared - who isn't frightened? God has spoken - what prophet can keep quiet?
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8 The lion has roared-- who will not fear? The Sovereign LORD has spoken-- who can but prophesy?
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9 Announce to the forts of Assyria, announce to the forts of Egypt - Tell them, "Gather on the Samaritan mountains, take a good, hard look: what a snake pit of brutality and terror!
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9 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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10 They can't - or won't - do one thing right." God said so. "They stockpile violence and blight.
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10 "They do not know how to do right," declares the LORD, "who hoard plunder and loot in their fortresses."
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11 Therefore" - this is God's Word - "an enemy will surround the country. He'll strip you of your power and plunder your forts."
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11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: "An enemy will overrun the land; he will pull down your strongholds and plunder your fortresses."
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12 God's Message: "In the same way that a shepherd trying to save a lamb from a lion Manages to recover just a pair of legs or the scrap of an ear, So will little be saved of the Israelites who live in Samaria - A couple of old chairs at most, the broken leg of a table.
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12 This is what the LORD says: "As a shepherd saves from the lion's mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites be saved, those who sit in Samaria on the edge of their beds and in Damascus on their couches."
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13 "Listen and bring witness against Jacob's family" - this is God's Word, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
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13 "Hear this and testify against the house of Jacob," declares the Lord, the LORD God Almighty.
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14 "Note well! The day I make Israel pay for its sins, pay for the sin-altars of worship at Bethel, The horned altars will all be dehorned and scattered around.
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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.
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15 I'll tear down the winter palace, smash the summer palace - all your fancy buildings. The luxury homes will be demolished, all those pretentious houses." God's Decree.
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15 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 LORD.
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| Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved. (The Message Bible Online) |
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |
