^2 (B)“You only have I known
    of all the families of the earth;
^(C)therefore I will punish you
    for all your iniquities.

³ “Do two walk together,
    unless they have agreed to meet?
⁴ Does a lion roar in the forest,
    when he has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from his den,
    if he has taken nothing?
⁵ Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth,
    when there is no trap for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground,
    when it has taken nothing?
^6 (D)Is a trumpet blown in a city,
    and the people are not afraid?
^(E)Does disaster come to a city,
    unless the Lord has done it?

⁷ “For the Lord God does nothing
    ^(F)without revealing his secret
    to his servants the prophets.
⁸ The lion has roared;
    who will not fear?
^(G)The Lord God has spoken;
    who can but prophesy?”

⁹ Proclaim to the strongholds in ^(H)Ashdod
    and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt,
and say, “Assemble yourselves on ^(I)the mountains of Samaria,
    and see the great tumults within her,
    and ^(J)the oppressed in her midst.”
¹⁰ “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,
    ^(K)“those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.”

^(L)“An adversary shall surround the land
    and bring down^[a] your defenses from you,
    and ^(M)your strongholds shall be plundered.”

¹³ “Hear, ^(Q)and testify against the house of Jacob,”
    declares the Lord God, ^(R)the God of hosts,
¹⁴ “that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions,
    ^(S)I will punish the altars of Bethel,
and ^(T)the horns of the altar shall be cut off
    and fall to the ground.
^15 (U)I will strike ^(V)the winter house along with ^(W)the summer house,
    and ^(X)the houses of ivory shall perish,
and the great houses^[c] shall come to an end,”
declares the Lord.

4 “Hear this word, ^(Y)you cows of Bashan,
    who are ^(Z)on the mountain of Samaria,
^(AA)who oppress the poor, ^(AB)who crush the needy,
    who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’
^2 (AC)The Lord God has sworn by his holiness
    that, behold, the days are coming upon you,
^(AD)when they shall take you away with hooks,
    ^(AE)even the last of you with fishhooks.
^3 (AF)And you shall go out through the breaches,
    each one straight ahead;
    and you shall be cast out into Harmon,”
declares the Lord.

^4 (AG)“Come to Bethel, and transgress;
    to ^(AH)Gilgal, and multiply transgression;
^(AI)bring your ^(AJ)sacrifices every morning,
    your tithes every three days;
⁵ offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of ^(AK)that which is leavened,
    and proclaim ^(AL)freewill offerings, publish them;
    ^(AM)for so you love to do, O people of Israel!”
declares the Lord God.

⁷ “I also ^(AP)withheld the rain from you
    when there were yet three months to the harvest;
^(AQ)I would send rain on one city,
    and send no rain on another city;
one field would have rain,
    and the field on which it did not rain would wither;
⁸ so two or three cities ^(AR)would wander to another city
    to drink water, and would not be satisfied;
^(AS)yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.

^9 (AT)“I struck you with blight and mildew;
    your many gardens and your vineyards,
    your fig trees and your olive trees ^(AU)the locust devoured;
^(AV)yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.

¹⁰ “I sent among you a pestilence ^(AW)after the manner of Egypt;
    I killed your young men with the sword,
and ^(AX)carried away your horses,^[d]
    and ^(AY)I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils;
^(AZ)yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.

¹¹ “I overthrew some of you,
    ^(BA)as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
    and you were ^(BB)as a brand^[e] plucked out of the burning;
^(BC)yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.

¹² “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;
    because I will do this to you,
    prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

¹³ For behold, ^(BD)he who forms the mountains and creates the wind,
    and ^(BE)declares to man what is his thought,
^(BF)who makes the morning darkness,
    and ^(BG)treads on the heights of the earth—
    ^(BH)the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!

¹² I am writing to you, little children,
    because ^(U)your sins are forgiven for his name's sake.
¹³ I am writing to you, fathers,
    because you know ^(V)him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
    because ^(W)you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
    because ^(X)you know the Father.
¹⁴ I write to you, fathers,
    because you know ^(Y)him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
    because ^(Z)you are strong,
    and the word of God abides in you,
    and you have overcome the evil one.

^4 (E)All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
    for they have heard the words of your mouth,
⁵ and they shall sing of ^(F)the ways of the Lord,
    for great is the glory of the Lord.
^6 (G)For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
    but the haughty he knows from afar.

^7 (H)Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you ^(I)preserve my life;
you ^(J)stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
    and your ^(K)right hand delivers me.
⁸ The Lord will ^(L)fulfill his purpose for me;
    ^(M)your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Do not forsake ^(N)the work of your hands.