Amos 3
New Century Version
Warning to Israel
3 Listen to this word that the Lord has spoken against you, people of Israel, against the whole family he brought out of Egypt.
2 “I have chosen only you
out of all the families of the earth,
so I will punish you
for all your sins.”
3 Two people will not walk together
unless they have agreed to do so.
4 A lion in the forest does not roar
unless it has caught an animal;
it does not growl in its den
when it has caught nothing.
5 A bird will not fall into a trap
where there is no bait;
the trap will not spring shut
if there is nothing to catch.
6 When a trumpet blows a warning in a city,
the people tremble.
When trouble comes to a city,
the Lord has caused it.
7 Before the Lord God does anything,
he tells his plans to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared!
Who wouldn’t be afraid?
The Lord God has spoken.
Who will not prophesy?
9 Announce this to the strong buildings of Ashdod
and to the strong buildings of Egypt:
“Come to the mountains of Samaria,
where you will see great confusion
and people hurting others.”
10 “The people don’t know how to do what is right,” says the Lord.
“Their strong buildings are filled with treasures they took by force from others.”
11 So this is what the Lord God says:
“An enemy will take over the land
and pull down your strongholds;
he will take the treasures out of your strong buildings.”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“A shepherd might save from a lion’s mouth
only two leg bones or a scrap of an ear of his sheep.
In the same way only a few Israelites in Samaria will be saved—
people who now sit on their beds
and on their couches.”
13 “Listen and be witnesses against the family of Jacob,” says the Lord God, the God All-Powerful.
14 “When I punish Israel for their sins,
I will also destroy the altars at Bethel.
The corners of the altar will be cut off,
and they will fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house,
together with the summer house.
The houses decorated with ivory will be destroyed,
and the great houses will come to an end,” says the Lord.
Amos 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
III. Threefold Summons to Hear the Word of the Lord
Chapter 3
First Summons
1 Hear this word, Israelites, that the Lord speaks concerning you,
concerning the whole family I brought up from the land of Egypt:
2 You alone I have known,[a]
among all the families of the earth;(A)
Therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities.
3 [b]Do two journey together
unless they have agreed?
4 Does a lion roar in the forest
when it has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from its den
unless it has seized something?
5 Does a bird swoop down on a trap on the ground
when there is no lure for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground
without catching anything?
6 Does the ram’s horn sound in a city
without the people becoming frightened?
Does disaster befall a city
unless the Lord has caused it?(B)
7 (Indeed, the Lord God does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.)
8 The lion has roared,
who would not fear?(C)
The Lord God has spoken,
who would not prophesy?
9 Proclaim this in the strongholds of Assyria,[c]
in the strongholds of the land of Egypt:
“Gather on the mount of Samaria,
and see the great disorders within it,
the oppressions within its midst.”[d]
10 They do not know how to do what is right—
oracle of the Lord—
Storing up in their strongholds
violence and destruction.
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.[e]
13 Hear and bear witness against the house of Jacob—
an oracle of the Lord God, the God of hosts:
14 On the day when I punish Israel for its crimes,
I will also punish the altars of Bethel;
The horns of the altar shall be broken off
and fall to the ground.[f](D)
15 I will strike the winter house
and the summer house;
The houses of ivory shall lie in ruin,
and their many rooms shall be no more—
oracle of the Lord.
Footnotes
- 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.
- 3:3–8 The metaphors in these sayings illustrate the principle of cause and effect, and lead up to the conclusion in v. 8.
- 3:9 Assyria: following the Greek version, the Hebrew text has “Ashod.” It is supposed that this was a copyist’s error: “Assyria” seems intended, in order to parallel “Egypt” in the next line.
- 3:9 With a keen sense of irony, Amos invites the most powerful oppressors in Israel’s memory, past and present—Egypt and Assyria—to see and marvel at the great oppression and injustice being wrought within Samaria by the people of Israel.
- 3:12 The “escape” is clearly a disaster, not a deliverance.
- 3:14 On Bethel, see also 4:4; 5:5–6; and 7:13. The prophet is condemning the religiosity and formalism of the worship by Israel’s leaders.
The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
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