God’s Reasons for Punishing Israel

Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, Israelites, against the entire clan that I brought from the land of Egypt:(A)

I have known only you(B)
out of all the clans of the earth;
therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.(C)
Can two walk together(D)
without agreeing to meet?
Does a lion roar(E) in the forest
when it has no prey?
Does a young lion growl from its lair
unless it has captured something?
Does a bird land in a trap on the ground
if there is no bait for it?
Does a trap spring from the ground
when it has caught nothing?
If a ram’s horn(F) is blown in a city,
aren’t people afraid?(G)
If a disaster(H) occurs in a city,
hasn’t the Lord done it?(I)
Indeed, the Lord God does nothing
without revealing his counsel
to his servants the prophets.(J)
A lion has roared;(K)
who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;(L)
who will not prophesy?(M)

Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod(N)
and on the citadels in the land of Egypt:
Assemble on the mountains of Samaria,(O)
and see the great turmoil in the city
and the acts of oppression within it.(P)
10 The people are incapable of doing right(Q)
this is the Lord’s declaration—
those who store up violence and destruction(R)
in their citadels.

11 Therefore, the Lord God says:

An enemy(S) will surround the land;
he will destroy(T) your strongholds
and plunder your citadels.(U)

12 The Lord says:

As the shepherd snatches two legs
or a piece of an ear
from the lion’s mouth,(V)
so the Israelites who live in Samaria
will be rescued
with only the corner of a bed(W)
or the[a] cushion[b] of a couch.[c](X)

13 Listen and testify(Y) against the house of Jacob—
this is the declaration of the Lord God,
the God of Armies.
14 I will punish the altars of Bethel(Z)
on the day I punish Israel for its crimes;
the horns of the altar(AA) will be cut off
and fall to the ground.(AB)
15 I will demolish the winter house(AC)
and the summer house;(AD)
the houses inlaid with ivory(AE) will be destroyed,
and the great houses(AF) will come to an end.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Footnotes

  1. 3:12 Or Israelites will be rescued, those who sit in Samaria on a corner of a bed or a
  2. 3:12 Hb obscure
  3. 3:12 LXX, Aq, Sym, Theod, Syr, Tg, Vg read or in Damascus

Vina şi pedeapsa Israelului

„Israeliţilor, ascultaţi acum acest cuvânt pe care l-a rostit Domnul împotriva voastră, împotriva întregului clan pe care Eu l-am scos din ţara Egiptului:

«Numai pe voi vă cunosc[a]
    dintre toate clanurile pământului;
de aceea vă voi şi pedepsi
    pentru toate fărădelegile voastre.

Merg oare doi oameni împreună,
    dacă nu s-au înţeles la aceasta?
Oare răcneşte leul în pădure
    când nu are pradă?
Oare se aude glasul leului tânăr din vizuina lui,
    dacă nu a prins ceva?
Oare cade pasărea în cursa de pe pământ,
    dacă nu i s-a întins un laţ?
Se ridică oare laţul de la pământ
    fără să se fi prins ceva în el?
Dacă sună cornul în cetate,
    oare nu tremură poporul?
Dacă vine o nenorocire în cetate,
    oare nu Domnul a dat-o?

Căci Stăpânul Domn nu face nimic
    fără să-Şi descopere hotărârea
        robilor Săi, profeţii.

Leul a răcnit –
    cine nu se va teme?
Stăpânul Domn a vorbit –
    cine ar putea să nu profeţească?

Proclamaţi în fortăreţele Aşdodului
    şi în fortăreţele ţării Egiptului astfel:
‘Adunaţi-vă pe munţii Samariei
    şi uitaţi-vă la numeroasele tulburări din mijlocul ei
        şi la asuprirea care este în ea!’

10 Nu ştiu să facă dreptate, zice Domnul,
    ei, care strâng în fortăreţele lor lucruri luate prin asuprire şi jaf.»

11 De aceea, aşa vorbeşte Stăpânul Domn:

«Un duşman va înconjura ţara,
    îţi va doborî puterea,
        iar fortăreţele tale vor fi jefuite!»

12 Aşa vorbeşte Domnul:

«Aşa cum păstorul scapă din gura leului
    doar două picioare sau o bucată de ureche,
tot aşa vor fi izbăviţi şi israeliţii,
    cei ce stau în Samaria, pe marginea patului,
        şi în Damasc, pe canapea.[b]

13 Ascultaţi şi mărturisiţi împotriva Casei lui Iacov, zice Stăpânul Domn, Dumnezeul Oştirilor[c].

14 În ziua când îl voi pedepsi pe Israel pentru nelegiuirile lui,
    voi aduce pedeapsa şi asupra altarelor din Betel;
coarnele altarului vor fi retezate
    şi vor cădea la pământ.
15 Voi surpa reşedinţa de iarnă
    şi reşedinţa de vară.
Palatele împodobite cu fildeş vor fi distruse,
    iar casele cele mari vor fi spulberate, zice Domnul

Footnotes

  1. Amos 3:2 Sau: v-am ales
  2. Amos 3:12 Sensul în ebraică al celor două versuri este nesigur; sau: patului / şi pe canapelele lor de Damasc (sau: canapelele lor scumpe)
  3. Amos 3:13 Ebr.: YHWH Ţevaot. Termenul ebraic pentru oştiri se poate referi: (1) la oştirile lui Israel (Ex. 7:4; Ps. 44:9 – v. 10 în TM); (2) la corpurile cereşti (Gen. 2:1; Deut. 4:19; Is. 40:26); (3) la îngeri (Ios. 5:14; 1 Regi 22:19; Ps. 148:2); probabil acest titlu face referire la suveranitatea lui Dumnezeu peste orice putere din univers; peste tot în carte

Listen! This is your doom! It is spoken by the Lord against both Israel and Judah—against the entire family I brought from Egypt:

“Of all the peoples of the earth, I have chosen you alone. That is why I must punish you the more for all your sins. For how can we walk together with your sins between us?

“Would I be roaring as a lion unless I had a reason? The fact is, I am getting ready to destroy you. Even a young lion, when it growls, shows it is ready for its food. A trap doesn’t snap shut unless it is stepped on; your punishment is well deserved. The alarm has sounded—listen and fear! For I, the Lord, am sending disaster into your land.

“But always, first of all, I warn you through my prophets. This I now have done.”

The Lion has roared—tremble in fear. The Lord God has sounded your doom—I dare not refuse to proclaim it.

“Call together the Assyrian and Egyptian leaders, saying, ‘Take your seats now on the mountains of Samaria to witness the scandalous spectacle of all Israel’s crimes.’ 10 My people have forgotten what it means to do right,” says the Lord. “Their beautiful homes are full of the loot from their thefts and banditry. 11 Therefore,” the Lord God says, “an enemy is coming! He is surrounding them and will shatter their forts and plunder those beautiful homes.”

12 The Lord says, “A shepherd tried to rescue his sheep from a lion, but it was too late; he snatched from the lion’s mouth two legs and a piece of ear. So it will be when the Israelites in Samaria are finally rescued—all they will have left is half a chair and a tattered pillow.

13 “Listen to this announcement and publish it throughout all Israel,” says the Lord, the Lord Almighty: 14 “On the same day that I punish Israel for her sins I will also destroy the idol 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—and demolish their ivory palaces.”