Amos 3
Lexham English Bible
Israel’s Guilt and Punishment
3 Hear this word that Yahweh has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole clan that I brought up from the land of Egypt:[a] 2 “You only have I chosen[b] of all the clans of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. 3 Do two walk together unless they have met? 4 Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey?[c] Does a fierce, young lion cry out from his den unless he has caught something? 5 Does a bird fall into a trapping net on the earth when there is no snare for it? Does a trapping net spring up from the ground unless it has certainly caught something? 6 Or is a horn blown in a city and people are not afraid? Or does a disaster occur in the city and Yahweh has not done it? 7 Surely my Lord does not do anything unless he has revealed his secret to his servants the prophets. 8 A lion has roared! Who is not afraid? My Lord Yahweh has spoken, who will not prophesy? 9 Proclaim to the citadel fortresses in Ashdod and the citadel fortresses in the land of Egypt and say: “Gather on the mountains of Samaria and see the great panic in her midst and the oppression in her midst!” 10 “They do not know how to do right,” declares Yahweh,[d] “those who store up violence and destruction in their citadel fortresses.” 11 Therefore, thus says my Lord Yahweh, “A foe shall surround the land and bring down your strongholds, and your citadel fortresses shall be plundered.” 12 Thus says Yahweh, “Just as the shepherd rescues two legs or a piece of an ear from the mouth of the lion, so shall the people[e] of Israel who dwell in Samaria, with the corner of a couch and the damask of a bed.” 13 “Listen and testify against the house of Jacob,” declares[f] my Lord Yahweh, the God of hosts. 14 “For on the day I punish Israel for its transgression,[g] I will also punish the altars of Bethel and the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground. 15 I will ruin the winter house as well as the summer house, and the houses of ivory will perish and the great houses shall come to an end,” declares[h] Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Amos 3:1 Hebrew “Egypt, saying”
- Amos 3:2 Literally “known”
- Amos 3:4 Literally “and there is no prey to him”
- Amos 3:10 Literally “the declaration of Yahweh”
- Amos 3:12 Literally “children”
- Amos 3:13 Literally “a declaration of”
- Amos 3:14 Literally “the transgression of Israel upon it”
- Amos 3:15 Literally “a declaration of”
Amos 3
New Living Translation
3 Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel—against the entire family I rescued from Egypt:
2 “From among all the families on the earth,
I have been intimate with you alone.
That is why I must punish you
for all your sins.”
Witnesses against Guilty Israel
3 Can two people walk together
without agreeing on the direction?
4 Does a lion ever roar in a thicket
without first finding a victim?
Does a young lion growl in its den
without first catching its prey?
5 Does a bird ever get caught in a trap
that has no bait?
Does a trap spring shut
when there’s nothing to catch?
6 When the ram’s horn blows a warning,
shouldn’t the people be alarmed?
Does disaster come to a city
unless the Lord has planned it?
7 Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything
until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared—
so who isn’t frightened?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
so who can refuse to proclaim his message?
9 Announce this to the leaders of Philistia[a]
and to the great ones of Egypt:
“Take your seats now on the hills around Samaria,
and witness the chaos and oppression in Israel.”
10 “My people have forgotten how to do right,”
says the Lord.
“Their fortresses are filled with wealth
taken by theft and violence.
11 Therefore,” says the Sovereign Lord,
“an enemy is coming!
He will surround them and shatter their defenses.
Then he will plunder all their fortresses.”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“A shepherd who tries to rescue a sheep from a lion’s mouth
will recover only two legs or a piece of an ear.
So it will be for the Israelites in Samaria lying on luxurious beds,
and for the people of Damascus reclining on couches.[b]
13 “Now listen to this, and announce it throughout all Israel,[c]” says the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies.
14 “On the very day I punish Israel for its sins,
I will destroy the pagan altars at Bethel.
The horns of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 And I will destroy the beautiful homes of the wealthy—
their winter mansions and their summer houses, too—
all their palaces filled with ivory,”
says the Lord.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
