Amos 2:12-4:9

English Standard Version

¹² “But you made the Nazirites ^(A)drink wine,
    and commanded the prophets,
    saying, ^(B)‘You shall not prophesy.’

¹³ “Behold, I will press you down in your place,
    as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
^14 (C)Flight shall perish from the swift,
    ^(D)and the strong shall not retain his strength,
    ^(E)nor shall the mighty save his life;
¹⁵ he who handles the bow shall not stand,
    and he who is ^(F)swift of foot shall not save himself,
    ^(G)nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;
¹⁶ and he who is stout of heart among the mighty
    shall flee away naked in that day,”
declares the Lord.

^2 (I)“You only have I known
    of all the families of the earth;
^(J)therefore I will punish you
    for all your iniquities.

³ “Do two walk together,
    unless they have agreed to meet?
⁴ Does a lion roar in the forest,
    when he has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from his den,
    if he has taken nothing?
⁵ Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth,
    when there is no trap for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground,
    when it has taken nothing?
^6 (K)Is a trumpet blown in a city,
    and the people are not afraid?
^(L)Does disaster come to a city,
    unless the Lord has done it?

⁷ “For the Lord God does nothing
    ^(M)without revealing his secret
    to his servants the prophets.
⁸ The lion has roared;
    who will not fear?
^(N)The Lord God has spoken;
    who can but prophesy?”

⁹ Proclaim to the strongholds in ^(O)Ashdod
    and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt,
and say, “Assemble yourselves on ^(P)the mountains of Samaria,
    and see the great tumults within her,
    and ^(Q)the oppressed in her midst.”
¹⁰ “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,
    ^(R)“those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.”

^(S)“An adversary shall surround the land
    and bring down^[a] your defenses from you,
    and ^(T)your strongholds shall be plundered.”

¹³ “Hear, ^(X)and testify against the house of Jacob,”
    declares the Lord God, ^(Y)the God of hosts,
¹⁴ “that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions,
    ^(Z)I will punish the altars of Bethel,
and ^(AA)the horns of the altar shall be cut off
    and fall to the ground.
^15 (AB)I will strike ^(AC)the winter house along with ^(AD)the summer house,
    and ^(AE)the houses of ivory shall perish,
and the great houses^[c] shall come to an end,”
declares the Lord.

4 “Hear this word, ^(AF)you cows of Bashan,
    who are ^(AG)on the mountain of Samaria,
^(AH)who oppress the poor, ^(AI)who crush the needy,
    who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’
^2 (AJ)The Lord God has sworn by his holiness
    that, behold, the days are coming upon you,
^(AK)when they shall take you away with hooks,
    ^(AL)even the last of you with fishhooks.
^3 (AM)And you shall go out through the breaches,
    each one straight ahead;
    and you shall be cast out into Harmon,”
declares the Lord.

^4 (AN)“Come to Bethel, and transgress;
    to ^(AO)Gilgal, and multiply transgression;
^(AP)bring your ^(AQ)sacrifices every morning,
    your tithes every three days;
⁵ offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of ^(AR)that which is leavened,
    and proclaim ^(AS)freewill offerings, publish them;
    ^(AT)for so you love to do, O people of Israel!”
declares the Lord God.

⁷ “I also ^(AW)withheld the rain from you
    when there were yet three months to the harvest;
^(AX)I would send rain on one city,
    and send no rain on another city;
one field would have rain,
    and the field on which it did not rain would wither;
⁸ so two or three cities ^(AY)would wander to another city
    to drink water, and would not be satisfied;
^(AZ)yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.

^9 (BA)“I struck you with blight and mildew;
    your many gardens and your vineyards,
    your fig trees and your olive trees ^(BB)the locust devoured;
^(BC)yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.