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III. Threefold Summons to Hear the Word of the Lord

Chapter 3

First Summons

Hear this word, Israelites, that the Lord speaks concerning you,
    concerning the whole family I brought up from the land of Egypt:
You alone I have known,[a]
    among all the families of the earth;(A)
Therefore I will punish you
    for all your iniquities.

[b]Do two journey together
    unless they have agreed?

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Footnotes

  1. 3:2 You alone I have known: precisely because Israel enjoyed a special status among the nations of the world in the eyes of the Lord (but see 9:7) it was called to a high degree of fidelity to God. Because Israel has failed in this expectation, it must experience God’s punishment.
  2. 3:3–8 The metaphors in these sayings illustrate the principle of cause and effect, and lead up to the conclusion in v. 8.