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Hear, you peoples, all of you.
    Listen, O earth, and all that is therein:
and let the Lord[a] Yahweh be witness against you,
    the Lord from his holy temple.
For, behold,[b] Yahweh comes out of his place,
    and will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.
The mountains melt under him,
    and the valleys split apart,
    like wax before the fire,
    like waters that are poured down a steep place.

“All this is for the disobedience of Jacob,
    and for the sins of the house of Israel.
What is the disobedience of Jacob?
    Isn’t it Samaria?
And what are the high places of Judah?
    Aren’t they Jerusalem?
Therefore I will make Samaria like a rubble heap of the field,
    like places for planting vineyards;
and I will pour down its stones into the valley,
    and I will uncover its foundations.
All her idols will be beaten to pieces,
    and all her temple gifts will be burned with fire,
    and all her images I will destroy;
for of the hire of a prostitute has she gathered them,
    and to the hire of a prostitute shall they return.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1:2 The word translated “Lord” is “Adonai.”
  2. 1:3 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.

Grief over Samaria and Jerusalem

Attention! Let all the people of the world listen!
    Let the earth and everything in it hear.
The Sovereign Lord is making accusations against you;
    the Lord speaks from his holy Temple.
Look! The Lord is coming!
    He leaves his throne in heaven
    and tramples the heights of the earth.
The mountains melt beneath his feet
    and flow into the valleys
like wax in a fire,
    like water pouring down a hill.
And why is this happening?
    Because of the rebellion of Israel[a]
    yes, the sins of the whole nation.
Who is to blame for Israel’s rebellion?
    Samaria, its capital city!
Where is the center of idolatry in Judah?
    In Jerusalem, its capital!

“So I, the Lord, will make the city of Samaria
    a heap of ruins.
Her streets will be plowed up
    for planting vineyards.
I will roll the stones of her walls into the valley below,
    exposing her foundations.
All her carved images will be smashed.
    All her sacred treasures will be burned.
These things were bought with the money
    earned by her prostitution,
and they will now be carried away
    to pay prostitutes elsewhere.”

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Footnotes

  1. 1:5 Hebrew Jacob; also in 1:5b. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.