| Former half | Relation | Latter half |
| 1 Judgment pronounced against Samaria (1:1-7) 1:5 What is the crime of Jacob? Is it not Samaria? And what is the sin of the house of Judah? Is it not Jerusalem? (1:5) | Crimes and sins | 12 God's compassion and steadfast love (7:14-20) 7:18 Who is there like you, the God who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance; (7:18) |
| 2 The doom of the cities of Judah (1:8-16) 1:13 Lachish, the beginning of sin for daughter Zion (1:13) | Sins | 11 Penitence and trust in God (7:9-13) 7:9 The wrath of the LORD I will endure because I have sinned against him |
| 3 Social evils denounced (2:1-13) 2:3 Therefore thus says the LORD: Behold, I am planning against this race an evil (2:3) | Punishment | 10 The total corruption of the people (7:1-8) 7:4 The day announced by your watchmen! your punishment has come; (7:4) |
| 4 Wicked rulers and prophets (3:1-12) 3:1 Hear, you leaders of Jacob, rulers of the house of Israel! (3:1) | Hear | 9 Cheating and violence to be punished (6:9-16) 6:9 Hear, O tribe and city council (6:9) |
| 4 Wicked rulers and prophets (3:1-12) 3:10 Who build up Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness! (3:10) | Wickedness | 9 Cheating and violence to be punished (6:9-16) 6:10 Am I to bear any longer criminal hoarding and the meager ephah that is accursed? (6:10) |
| 5 Restoration promised after exile (4:1-14) 4:1 In days to come the mount of the LORD'S house Shall be established higher than the mountains; (4:1) | The mount of the LORD | 8 God challenges Israel (6:1-8) 6:1 Hear, then, what the LORD says: Arise, present your plea before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice! (6:1) |
| 6 The ruler from Bethlehem (5:1-8) 5:5 And they shall tend the land of Assyria with the sword, and the land of Nimrod with the drawn sword; (5:5) | Victory against foreign countries | 7 The future role of the remnant (5:9-14) 5:14 I will wreak vengeance in anger and wrath upon the nations that have not hearkened.(5:14) |
| Former half | Relation | Latter half |
| 1 Judgment pronounced against Samaria (1:1-7) 1:3 For see, the LORD comes forth from his place (1:3) | Coming of the LORD | 6 The ruler from Bethlehem (5:1-8) 5:2 the Lord will give them up, until the time when she who is to give birth has borne (5:2) |
| 2 The doom of the cities of Judah (1:8-16) 1:8 For this reason I lament and wail (1:8) | Wailing | 5 Restoration promised after exile (4:1-14) 4:9 Now why do you cry out so? (4:9) |
| 3 Social evils denounced (2:1-13) 2:2 They covet fields, and seize them; houses, and they take them; They cheat an owner of his house, a man of his inheritance.(2:2) | Robber | 4 Wicked rulers and prophets (3:1-12) 3:2 you who hate what is good, and love evil? You who tear their skin from them, and their flesh from their bones! (3:2) |
| Former half | Relation | Latter half |
| 7 The future role of the remnant (5:9-14) 5:14 I will wreak vengeance in anger and wrath (5:14) | The wrath of the LORD | 12 God's compassion and steadfast love (7:14-20) 7:18 Who does not persist in anger forever, but delights rather in clemency, (7:18) |
| 8 God challenges Israel (6:1-8) 6:5 you may know the just deeds of the LORD.(6:5) | The justice of the LORD | 11 Penitence and trust in God (7:9-13) 7:9 I will see his justice. (7:9) |
| 9 Cheating and violence to be punished (6:9-16) 6:10 Am I to bear any longer criminal hoarding and the meager ephah that is accursed? (6:10) | Injustice | 10 The total corruption of the people (7:1-8) 7:2 The faithful are gone from the earth, among men the upright are no more! They all lie in wait to shed blood, each one ensnares the other. (7:2) |