Amos 3
Christian Standard Bible
God’s Reasons for Punishing Israel
3 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)
2 I have known only you(B)
out of all the clans of the earth;
therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.(C)
3 Can two walk together(D)
without agreeing to meet?
4 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?
5 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?
6 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)
7 Indeed, the Lord God does nothing
without revealing his counsel
to his servants the prophets.(J)
8 A lion has roared;(K)
who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;(L)
who will not prophesy?(M)
9 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:
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.
Amos 3
1599 Geneva Bible
3 He reproveth the house of Israel of ingratitude. 11 For the which God will punish them.
1 Hear this word that the Lord pronounceth against you, O children of Israel, even against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,
2 You [a]only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will visit you for all your iniquities.
3 Can two walk together except they be [b]agreed?
4 Will a [c]lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? or will a lion’s whelp cry out of his den, if he hath taken nothing?
5 [d]Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no fowler is? or will he take up the [e]snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?
6 Or [f]shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people be not afraid? or shall there [g]be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?
7 Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he [h]revealeth his secret unto his servants the Prophets.
8 The lion hath roared: who will not be afraid? the Lord God hath spoken, who can but [i]prophesy?
9 Proclaim in the palaces at [j]Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria: so behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof.
10 For they know not to do right, saith the Lord: they store up violence, and robbery [k]in their palaces.
11 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, An adversary shall come even round about the country, and shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled.
12 Thus saith the Lord, As the shepherd taketh [l]out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear: so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed: and in [m]Damascus, as in a couch.
13 Hear, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God, the God of hosts.
14 Surely in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be broken off, and fall to the ground.
15 And I will smite the winter house with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall be consumed, saith the Lord.
Footnotes
- Amos 3:2 I have only chosen you to be mine among all other people, and yet you have forsaken me.
- Amos 3:3 Hereby the Prophet signifieth that he speaketh not of himself, but as God guideth and moveth him, which is called the agreement between God and his Prophets.
- Amos 3:4 Will God threaten by his Prophet, except there be some great occasion?
- Amos 3:5 Can anything come without God’s providence?
- Amos 3:5 Shall his threatenings be in vain?
- Amos 3:6 Shall the Prophets threaten God’s judgments and the people not be afraid?
- Amos 3:6 Doth any adversity come without God’s appointment? Isa. 45:7.
- Amos 3:7 God dealeth not with the Israelites, as he doeth with other people: for he ever warneth them before of his plagues by his Prophets.
- Amos 3:8 Because the people ever murmured against the Prophets, he showeth that God’s Spirit moved them so to speak as they did.
- Amos 3:9 He calleth the strangers, as the Philistines and Egyptians, to be witness of God’s judgments against the Israelites for their cruelty and oppression.
- Amos 3:10 The fruit of their cruelty and theft appeareth by their great riches, which they have in their houses.
- Amos 3:12 When the lion hath satiate his hunger, the shepherd findeth a leg or a rip of an ear, to show that the sheep have been worried.
- Amos 3:12 Where they thought to have had a sure hold, and to have been in safety.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.
