Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Judah, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; Because they have rejected Yahweh's law, And have not kept his statutes, And their lies have led them astray, After which their fathers walked;
"For three transgressions, yea, for four ..." This first great strophe is couched in exactly the same language as all the others, being part of a single address, delivered upon a definite occasion, and later written down by the prophet himself.  Furthermore, as we have observed, it was the absolutely necessary prelude to pointing the prophetic barrage against Israel herself.