NKJV

The New King James Version

Thomas Nelson Publishers
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2  This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Moab,

even for four, I will not turn back my wrath.

Because he burned, as if to lime,

the bones of Edom’s king,

 2 I will send fire upon Moab

that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.f

Moab will go down in great tumult

amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet.

 3 I will destroy her ruler

and kill all her officials with him,”

says the Lord.

 4 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Judah,

even for four, I will not turn back my wrath.

Because they have rejected the law of the Lord

and have not kept his decrees,

because they have been led astray by false gods,g

the godsh their ancestors followed,

 5 I will send fire upon Judah

that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.”

 Judgment on Israel

6 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Israel,

even for four, I will not turn back my wrath.

They sell the righteous for silver,

and the needy for a pair of sandals.

 7 They trample on the heads of the poor

as upon the dust of the ground

and deny justice to the oppressed.

Father and son use the same girl

and so profane my holy name.

 8 They lie down beside every altar

on garments taken in pledge.

In the house of their god

they drink wine taken as fines.

 9 “I destroyed the Amorite before them,

though he was tall as the cedars

and strong as the oaks.

I destroyed his fruit above

and his roots below.

 10 “I brought you up out of Egypt,

and I led you forty years in the desert

to give you the land of the Amorites.

 11 I also raised up prophets from among your sons

and Nazirites from among your young men.

Is this not true, people of Israel?”

declares the Lord.

 12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine

and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.

 13 “Now then, I will crush you

as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.

 14 The swift will not escape,

the strong will not muster their strength,

and the warrior will not save his life.

 15 The archer will not stand his ground,

the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,

and the horseman will not save his life.

 16 Even the bravest warriors

will flee naked on that day,”

declares the Lord.

  

Witnesses Summoned Against Israel

3 Hear this word the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:

 2 “You only have I chosen

of all the families of the earth;

therefore I will punish you

for all your sins.”

 3 Do two walk together

unless they have agreed to do so?

 4 Does a lion roar in the thicket

when he has no prey?

Does he growl in his den

when he has caught nothing?

 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?

 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?

 7 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing

without revealing his plan

to his servants the prophets.

 8 The lion has roared—

who will not fear?

The Sovereign Lord has spoken—

who can but prophesy?

 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.”

 10 “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,

“who hoard plunder and loot in their fortresses.”

 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.”

 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.a

 13 “Hear this and testify against the house of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.

 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.

 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.

  

Israel Has Not Returned to God

4 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria,

you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy

and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”

 2 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness:

“The time will surely come

when you will be taken away with hooks,

the last of you with fishhooks.

 3 You will each go straight out

through breaks in the wall,

and you will be cast out toward Harmon,a

declares the Lord.

 4 “Go to Bethel and sin;

go to Gilgal and sin yet more.

Bring your sacrifices every morning,

your tithes every three years.b

 5 Burn leavened bread as a thank offering

and brag about your freewill offerings—

boast about them, you Israelites,

for this is what you love to do,”

declares the Sovereign Lord.

 6 “I gave you empty stomachsc in every city

and lack of bread in every town,

yet you have not returned to me,”

declares the Lord.

 7 “I also withheld rain from you

when the harvest was still three months away.

I sent rain on one town,

but withheld it from another.

One field had rain;

another had none and dried up.

 8 People staggered from town to town for water

but did not get enough to drink,

yet you have not returned to me,”

declares the Lord.

 9 “Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,

I struck them with blight and mildew.

Locusts devoured your fig and olive trees,

yet you have not returned to me,”

declares the Lord.

 10 “I sent plagues among you

as I did to Egypt.

I killed your young men with the sword,

along with your captured horses.

I filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps,

yet you have not returned to me,”

declares the Lord.

 11 “I overthrew some of you

as Id overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

You were like a burning stick snatched from the fire,

yet you have not returned to me,”

declares the Lord.

 12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel,

and because I will do this to you,

prepare to meet your God, O Israel.”

 13 He who forms the mountains,

creates the wind,

and reveals his thoughts to man,

he who turns dawn to darkness,

and treads the high places of the earth—

the Lord God Almighty is his name.