Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told to you since the very beginning? Have you not understood from the time the earth’s foundations were made?

O Lord, do I not hate those who hate you, and despise those who oppose you?

All this is because of Jacob’s rebellion and the sins of the nation of Israel. How has Jacob rebelled, you ask? Samaria epitomizes their rebellion! Where are Judah’s pagan worship centers, you ask? They are right in Jerusalem!

Do we not all have one father? Did not one God create us? Why do we betray one another, in this way making light of the covenant of our ancestors?

David replied, “What have I done now? Can’t I say anything?”

Do not those who devise evil go astray? But those who plan good exhibit faithful covenant love.

Even now you say to me, ‘You are my father! You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young.

Hasn’t he treated us like foreigners? He not only sold us, but completely wasted the money paid for us!

If we do so, won’t their livestock, their property, and all their animals become ours? So let’s consent to their demand, so they will live among us.”

He said to them, “Now what have I accomplished compared to you? Even Ephraim’s leftover grapes are better quality than Abiezer’s harvest!

When they came back, Elisha was staying in Jericho. He said to them, “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t go’?”

In just a very short time Lebanon will turn into an orchard, and the orchard will be considered a forest.

You have heard; now look at all the evidence! Will you not admit that what I say is true? From this point on I am announcing to you new events that are previously unrevealed and you do not know about.

You have brought all this on yourself, Israel, by deserting the Lord your God when he was leading you along the right path.

But I am not really the one being troubled!” says the Lord. “Rather they are bringing trouble on themselves to their own shame!

He upheld the cause of the poor and needy. So things went well for Judah.’ The Lord says, ‘That is a good example of what it means to know me.’

My message is like a fire that purges dross! It is like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces! I, the Lord, so affirm it!

When the wall has collapsed, people will ask you, “Where is the whitewash you coated it with?”

Do I actually delight in the death of the wicked, declares the sovereign Lord? Do I not prefer that he turn from his wicked conduct and live?

When your people say to you, ‘Will you not tell us what these things mean?’