1. HEAR THIS word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt:
2. You only have I known (chosen, sympathized with, and loved) of all the families of the earth; therefore I will visit upon you all your wickedness and punish you for all your iniquities.
3. Do two walk together except they make an appointment and have agreed?
4. Will a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den if he has taken nothing?
5. Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth where there is no trap for him? Does a trap spring up from the ground when nothing at all has sprung it?
6. Shall a trumpet be blown in the city and the people not be alarmed and afraid? Shall misfortune or evil occur [as punishment] and the Lord has not caused it?
7. Surely the Lord God will do nothing without revealing His secret to His servants the prophets. [Rev. 10:7.]
8. The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy? [Acts 4:20; 5:20, 29; I Cor. 9:16.]