Add parallel Print Page Options

Hear this word that Yahweh has spoken against you, children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying:

“I have only chosen you of all the families of the earth.
    Therefore I will punish you for all of your sins.”
Do two walk together,
    unless they have agreed?
Will a lion roar in the thicket,
    when he has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out of his den,
    if he has caught nothing?
Can a bird fall in a trap on the earth,
    where no snare is set for him?
Does a snare spring up from the ground,
    when there is nothing to catch?
Does the trumpet alarm sound in a city,
    without the people being afraid?
Does evil happen to a city,
    and Yahweh hasn’t done it?
Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing,
    unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.
The lion has roared.
    Who will not fear?
The Lord Yahweh has spoken.
    Who can but prophesy?
Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod,
    and in the palaces in the land of Egypt,
and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria,
    and see what unrest is in her,
    and what oppression is among them.”
10 “Indeed they don’t know to do right,” says Yahweh,
    “Who hoard plunder and loot in their palaces.”

11 Therefore the Lord Yahweh says:

“An adversary will overrun the land;
    and he will pull down your strongholds,
    and your fortresses will be plundered.”

12 Yahweh says:

“As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs,
    or a piece of an ear,
    so shall the children of Israel be rescued who sit in Samaria on the corner of a couch,
    and on the silken cushions of a bed.”

13 “Listen, and testify against the house of Jacob,” says the Lord Yahweh, the God of Armies.

14 “For in the day that I visit the transgressions of Israel on him,
    I will also visit the altars of Bethel;
    and the horns of the altar will be cut off,
    and fall to the ground.
15 I will strike the winter house with the summer house;
    and the houses of ivory will perish,
    and the great houses will have an end,”

says Yahweh.

Words of doom for Israel

Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought out of the land of Egypt:

You only have I loved so deeply
        of all the families of the earth.
    Therefore, I will punish you
        for all your wrongdoing.
    Will two people walk together
        unless they have agreed to do so?[a]
    Does a lion roar in the forest
        when it has no prey?
    Does a young lion cry out from its den
        if it has caught nothing?
    Will a bird fall into a trap on the ground
        when there is no bait for it?
    Will a trap spring up from the ground
        when it has taken nothing?
    If a ram’s horn is blown in a city,
        won’t people tremble?
    If disaster falls on a city,
        is it the Lord who has done it?
    Surely the Lord God does nothing
        without revealing his secret
        to his servants the prophets.

    A lion has roared;
        who will not fear?
    The Lord God has spoken;
        who can but prophesy?
    Proclaim it to the palaces of Ashdod
        and to the palaces in the land of Egypt.
    Say, “Gather yourselves on Mount Samaria,
        and see the great turmoil in the city,
        and what violent deeds are inside it.”
10 They don’t know how to do right,
says the Lord
        those who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.
11 Therefore, the Lord my God proclaims:
        An enemy will surround the land;
    he will bring you down from your protected places,
        and your palaces will be robbed.

12 The Lord proclaims:

Just as the shepherd rescues two legs or the piece of an ear from the mouth of the lion, so will the people of Israel be rescued. Those who live in Samaria will escape with the corner of a bed, and those in Damascus with a piece of a couch.[b]

13 Hear this and speak against the house of Jacob,
        says the Lord God, the God of heavenly forces:
14 On the day I punish the crimes of Israel,
    I will also visit the altars of Bethel;
        the horns of the altar will be cut off
        and will fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house as well as the summer house;
        the houses of ivory will perish;
        the great houses will be swept away,
says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 3:3 Or Will two walk together unless they have agreed?
  2. Amos 3:12 Heb uncertain