Amos 3 (New International Version)

Amos 3

Witnesses Summoned Against Israel

 ¹ Hear this word the LORD has spoken against you, O people of Israel—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:

 ² "You only have I chosen
       of all the families of the earth;
       therefore I will punish you
       for all your sins."

 ³ Do two walk together
       unless they have agreed to do so?

 ⁴ Does a lion roar in the thicket
       when he has no prey?
       Does he growl in his den
       when he has caught nothing?

 ⁵ Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground
       where no snare has been set?
       Does a trap spring up from the earth
       when there is nothing to catch?

 ⁶ When a trumpet sounds in a city,
       do not the people tremble?
       When disaster comes to a city,
       has not the LORD caused it?

 ⁷ Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing
       without revealing his plan
       to his servants the prophets.

 ⁸ The lion has roared—
       who will not fear?
       The Sovereign LORD has spoken—
       who can but prophesy?

 ⁹ Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod
       and to the fortresses of Egypt:
       "Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;
       see the great unrest within her
       and the oppression among her people."

 ¹⁰ "They do not know how to do right," declares the LORD,
       "who hoard plunder and loot in their fortresses."

 ¹¹ Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says:
       "An enemy will overrun the land;
       he will pull down your strongholds
       and plunder your fortresses."

 ¹² This is what the LORD says:
       "As a shepherd saves from the lion's mouth
       only two leg bones or a piece of an ear,
       so will the Israelites be saved,
       those who sit in Samaria
       on the edge of their beds
       and in Damascus on their couches. ^[a] "

 ¹³ "Hear this and testify against the house of Jacob," declares the Lord, the LORD God Almighty.

 ¹⁴ "On the day I punish Israel for her sins,
       I will destroy the altars of Bethel;
       the horns of the altar will be cut off
       and fall to the ground.

 ¹⁵ I will tear down the winter house
       along with the summer house;
       the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed
       and the mansions will be demolished,"
       declares the LORD.