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Amos 3
International Standard Version
Amos 3
International Standard Version
A Higher Standard of Accountability
3 “Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken about you, people of Israel. It concerns the entire family that I brought from the land of Egypt:
2 ‘You alone have I known from among all of the families of mankind;
therefore I will hold you accountable for all your iniquities.’”
Seven Questions to Ponder
3 “Will a couple walk in unity
without having met?
4 Will a lion roar in the forest
without having found its prey?
Will a young lion cry from its den
without having caught anything?
5 Does a bird fall into a snare on the ground
without any bait in the trap?
Will a trap snap shut
when there is nothing to catch?
6 And when an alarm[a] sounds in the city,
the people will tremble, won’t they?
If there is trouble in a city,
the Lord has brought it about, has he not?”
The Lord’s Purposes
7 “Truly the Lord God will do nothing he has mentioned
without revealing his purposes to his servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken!
Who will not prophesy?
9 Announce this[b] in the fortified citadels of Ashdod,
and in the fortified citadels of the land of Egypt.
Tell them, ‘Gather together on the mountains of Samaria;
look at the great misery among the citadels,[c]
along with the oppression within Egypt.’[d]
10 Because they do not know how to act right,”
declares the Lord,
“they are filling their strongholds with treasures
that they took from others by violence into their fortified citadels.”
11 Therefore this is what the Lord God says:
“An enemy will surround the land.
He[e] will pull down your defenses,
and plunder your fortified citadels.”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“Just as a shepherd might save from the lion’s mouth
only two leg bones or a scrap of an ear,
the Israelis will be saved in a similar manner—
those in Samaria who sit on the remains of their broken beds,[f]
and those in Damascus who lie on the edge of their couches.”
13 “Listen and testify against the house of Jacob,”
declares the Lord God, the God of the Heavenly Armies,
14 “because on that day I will lay out the charges against Israel.
I will also bring judgment upon the altars of Bethel;
the horns of the altar will be cut off
and will fall to the ground.
15 I will wreck both the winter house and the summer house,
and the ivory houses will fall.[g]
These palaces will surely fall,”
declares the Lord.
Amos 3
New International Version
Amos 3
New International Version
Witnesses Summoned Against Israel
3 Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you(A)—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:(B)
2 “You only have I chosen(C)
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish(D) you
for all your sins.(E)”
3 Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
4 Does a lion roar(F) in the thicket
when it has no prey?(G)
Does it growl in its den
when it has caught nothing?
5 Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
when no bait(H) is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
if it has not caught anything?
6 When a trumpet(I) sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When disaster(J) comes to a city,
has not the Lord caused it?(K)
7 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
without revealing his plan(L)
to his servants the prophets.(M)
8 The lion(N) has roared(O)—
who will not fear?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
who can but prophesy?(P)
9 Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod(Q)
and to the fortresses of Egypt:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;(R)
see the great unrest within her
and the oppression among her people.”
10 “They do not know how to do right,(S)” declares the Lord,
“who store up in their fortresses(T)
what they have plundered(U) and looted.”
11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“An enemy will overrun your land,
pull down your strongholds
and plunder your fortresses.(V)”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s(W) 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](X)”
13 “Hear this and testify(Y) against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.
14 “On the day I punish(Z) Israel for her sins,
I will destroy the altars of Bethel;(AA)
the horns(AB) of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house(AC)
along with the summer house;(AD)
the houses adorned with ivory(AE) will be destroyed
and the mansions(AF) will be demolished,(AG)”
declares the Lord.(AH)
International Standard Version (ISV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.