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3 ‎[1] **Hear this word that the Lord has spoken concerning you, children of Israel. **Although this prophecy is addressed primarily to the Kingdom of Israel and its capital, Samaria, it is also stated **concerning the entire family that I took up from the land of Egypt, saying: **
‎[2] **Only you have I known, **I have** **established a close relationship with you alone, **from all the families of the earth; therefore, I will reckon upon you all your iniquities.**
‎[3] The prophet illustrates this idea by means of a series of rhetorical questions, employing a variety of metaphors: **Will two walk together, unless they were destined? **Doesn’t the fact that two individuals can be seen walking together toward a specific destination indicate that their interaction is intentional?
‎[4] **Will a lion roar in the forest, and it has no prey? **A lion always roars for some purpose, for instance to frighten animals when hunting, or to call other lions to join the chase. **Will a young lion project its voice from its lair, unless it has captured **prey?** **The young lion will cry out only after it has just trapped its prey, or is about to do so.
‎[5] The following metaphors also involve two items that come together: **Will a bird fall into a trap on the ground, and there is no snare for it? **If there is no bait or trapping mechanism, the bird will continue to fly freely. Likewise, **will a trap arise from the ground,**** and not capture? **A trap will be activated only if a bird has perched inside.
‎[6] **Will the shofar be sounded in a city **as a warning** **signal,** and the people not tremble? **The prophet explains the meaning of all of the metaphors in the last three verses:** Will there be misfortune in a city, and the Lord did not do it? **Do you think that calamity can strike a city unless God wishes it so?
‎[7] **For the Lord God will not do anything **in the world,** unless He **first **revealed His secret to His servants, the prophets, **in order to warn the people. Therefore, the prophets are always informed of imminent events, which they reveal in their prophecies.
‎[8] **A lion roared; who will not fear? **All tremble upon hearing a lion’s roar. So too,** the Lord God spoke **to a person;** who will not prophesy? **It is impossible for one who hears the word of God not to prophesy, even if the content of his prophecy is unpleasant for both the prophet and his audience and offers no consolation at all. Such is the case with regard to the next prophecy.
‎[9] Come and **proclaim it atop the palaces in Ashdod, **in Philistine territory,** and atop the **more distant** palaces in the land of Egypt, and say: Gather on the mountains of Samaria, **the capital of the Kingdom of Israel,** and see **the** many tumults in it and the exploited in its midst. **
‎[10] **They, **its inhabitants,** do not know how to do right** **– the utterance of the Lord** **–** as **they** are people **who store **up** ill-gotten gains, **property appropriated through extortion,** and plunder, **items taken forcefully,** in their palaces. **
‎[11] **Therefore, so said the Lord God: An enemy **will come, **surrounding the land,** and** he will take down your might from you, and your palaces **in Samaria** will be looted. **
‎[12] **So said the Lord: As the shepherd rescues two legs or a remnant of an ear from the mouth of the lion**.** **If the shepherd is particularly brave, or if he waits long enough, he might be able to save the remains of the carcass from the mouth of the lion. This would be little consolation to the owner of the animal, but the shepherd makes the effort mainly to demonstrate that he did not steal the animal himself. The prophet explains the comparison: **So **a small remnant of** the children of Israel who live in Samaria will be rescued with the corner of a bed. **They will be found in undignified places. Alternatively, only the weak and ill will be saved, as they will be unable to flee from the enemy and will move to the edge of the bed so that they will not be seen. **Or **the few who escape will be like** the edge [*****demesek*****] of a couch. **Some destitute individuals will remain in desolate corners of the land, but most of the people will perish. Alternatively, the word *demesek *is referring to the city of Damascus, as the few survivors will be dispersed to a location in the region of that city.
‎[13] **Hear and testify in the house of Jacob – the utterance of the Lord God, God of hosts. **
‎[14] **For on the day of My reckoning of the transgressions of Israel upon it, I will make a reckoning upon the **magnificent **altars of Beit El, **the center of worship in the Kingdom of Israel,** and the horns of the altar will be cut down and fall to the ground. **
‎[15] **I will strike the winter house **of the kings of Samaria in Yizre’el, which has a relatively warm climate, **with the summer house** in the mountainous region of Samaria, which is more pleasant during the summer, **and the ivory houses,**decorated with elegant ivory from the teeth of an elephant, **will be demolished, and many houses will be destroyed; **this is **the utterance of the Lord.**
Version: The Steinsaltz Tanakh - English
Source: https://korenpub.com/collections/the-steinsaltz-tanakh/products/steinsaltz-tanakh
License: Copyright: Steinsaltz Center