¶ O hear this word, ye fat kine, that be upon the hill of Samaria, yea that do poor men wrong, and oppress the needy, yea that say to your lords: bring hither, let us drink. Therefore the LORD hath sworn by his holiness: The days shall come upon you, that ye shall be lift up upon spears, and your posterity carried away in fisher's paniers. Ye shall get you out at the gaps one after another, and in Armon shall ye be cast away, sayeth the LORD. Ye came to Bethell for to work ungraciousness, and have increased your sins at Gilgal: ye brought your sacrifices in the morning, and your tithes unto the third day. Ye made a thank offering of leaven, ye promised free will offerings, and proclaimed them. Such lust had ye, O ye children of Israel, sayeth the Lord GOD.
¶ Therefore have I given you idle teeth in all your cities, and scarceness of bread in all your places: yet will ye not turn unto me, sayeth the LORD. When there were but three months unto the harvest, I withheld the rain from you: yea I rained upon one city, and not upon another, one piece of ground was moistured with rain, and the ground that I rained not upon, was dry. Wherefore two, yea three cities came unto one, to drink water: but they were not satisfied, yet will ye not turn unto me, sayeth the LORD. I have smitten you with drought and blasting: and look how many orchards, vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees ye had: the caterpillar hath eaten them up. But yet will ye not turn unto me, sayeth the LORD. Pestilence have I sent among you, as I did in Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and caused your horses be taken captive: I made the stinking savour of your tents to come up into your nostrils: yet will ye not turn unto me, sayeth the LORD. Some of you have I overthrown as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah: so that ye were as a brand plucked out of the fire; yet will ye not turn unto me, sayeth the LORD. Therefore thus will I handle thee again, O Israel, yea even thus will I handle thee. Make thee ready then to meet thy God, O Israel. For lo, he maketh the mountains, he ordenaith the wind, he sheweth man what he is about to do: he maketh the morning and the darkness, he treadeth upon the high places of the earth: the LORD God of hosts is his name.