Hebrew Names Version HNV
The Message Bible MSG
1 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, children of Yisra'el, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Mitzrayim, saying:
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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!
2 "You only have I chosen of all the families of the eretz. Therefore I will punish you for all of your sins."
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"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."
3 Do two walk together, Unless they have agreed?
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Do two people walk hand in hand if they aren't going to the same place?
4 Will a lion roar in the thicket, When he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out of his den, If he has caught nothing?
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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?
5 Can a bird fall in a trap on the eretz, Where no snare is set for him? Does a snare spring up from the ground, When there is nothing to catch?
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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?
6 Does the shofar alarm sound in a city, Without the people being afraid? Does evil befall a city, And the LORD hasn't done it?
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When the alarm goes off in the city, aren't people alarmed? And when disaster strikes the city, doesn't God stand behind it?
7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, Unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.
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The fact is, God, the Master, does nothing without first telling his prophets the whole story.
8 The lion has roared. Who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken. Who can but prophesy?
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The lion has roared - who isn't frightened? God has spoken - what prophet can keep quiet?
9 Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod, And in the palaces in the land of Mitzrayim, And say, "Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Shomron, And see what unrest is in her, And what oppression is among them."
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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!
10 "Indeed they don't know to do right," says the LORD, "Who hoard plunder and loot in their palaces."
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They can't - or won't - do one thing right." God said so. "They stockpile violence and blight.
11 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "An adversary will overrun the land; And he will pull down your strongholds, And your fortresses will be plundered."
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Therefore" - this is God's Word - "an enemy will surround the country. He'll strip you of your power and plunder your forts."
12 Thus says the LORD: "As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, Or a piece of an ear, So shall the children of Yisra'el be rescued who sit in Shomron on the corner of a couch, And on the silken cushions of a bed."
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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.
13 "Listen, and testify against the house of Ya`akov," says the Lord GOD, the God Tzva'ot,.
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"Listen and bring witness against Jacob's family" - this is God's Word, God-of-the-Angel-Armies!
14 "For in the day that I visit the transgressions of Yisra'el on him, I will also visit the altars of Beit-El; And the horns of the altar will be cut off, And fall to the ground.
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"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.
15 I will strike the winter house with the summer house; And the houses of ivory will perish, And the great houses will have an end," says the LORD.
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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.
The Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain.
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.