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11 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
An enemy shall surround the land,
    tear down your fortresses,
    and pillage your strongholds.
12 Thus says the Lord:
As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion
    a pair of sheep’s legs or the tip of an ear,
So shall the Israelites escape,
    those who dwell in Samaria,
With the corner of a couch
    or a piece of a cot.[a]

13 Hear and bear witness against the house of Jacob—
    an oracle of the Lord God, the God of hosts:

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Footnotes

  1. 3:12 The “escape” is clearly a disaster, not a deliverance.

11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“An enemy will overrun your land,
    pull down your strongholds
    and plunder your fortresses.(A)

12 This is what the Lord says:

“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s(B) mouth
    only two leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued,
    with only the head of a bed
    and a piece of fabric[a] from a couch.[b](C)

13 “Hear this and testify(D) against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Amos 3:12 Or Israelites be rescued, / those who sit in Samaria / on the edge of their beds / and in Damascus on their couches.