Amos 3
Good News Translation
3 People of Israel, listen to this message which the Lord has spoken about you, the entire nation that he brought out of Egypt: 2 “Of all the nations on earth, you are the only one I have known and cared for. That is what makes your sins so terrible, and that is why I must punish you for them.”
The Prophet's Task
3 Do two people start traveling together without arranging to meet?
4 Does a lion roar in the forest unless he has found a victim?
Does a young lion growl in his den unless he has caught something?
5 Does a bird get caught in a trap if the trap has not been baited?
Does a trap spring unless something sets it off?
6 Does the war trumpet sound in a city without making the people afraid?
Does disaster strike a city unless the Lord sends it?
7 The Sovereign Lord never does anything without revealing his plan to his servants, the prophets.
8 When a lion roars, who can keep from being afraid?
When the Sovereign Lord speaks, who can keep from proclaiming his message?
The Doom of Samaria
9 Announce to those who live in the palaces of Egypt and Ashdod: “Gather together in the hills around Samaria and see the great disorder and the crimes being committed there.”
10 The Lord says, “These people fill their mansions with things taken by crime and violence. They don't even know how to be honest. 11 And so an enemy will surround their land, destroy their defenses, and plunder their mansions.”
12 The Lord says, “As a shepherd recovers only two legs or an ear of a sheep that a lion has eaten, so only a few will survive of Samaria's people, who now recline on luxurious couches.[a] 13 Listen now, and warn the descendants of Jacob,” says the Sovereign Lord Almighty. 14 (A)“On the day when I punish the people of Israel for their sins, I will destroy the altars of Bethel. The corners of every altar will be broken off and will fall to the ground. 15 I will destroy winter houses and summer houses. The houses decorated with ivory will fall in ruins; every large house will be destroyed.”
Footnotes
- Amos 3:12 luxurious couches; Hebrew unclear.
Amos 3
World English Bible
3 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:
2 “I have only chosen you of all the families of the earth.
Therefore I will punish you for all of your sins.”
3 Do two walk together,
unless they have agreed?
4 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?
5 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?
6 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?
7 Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing,
unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared.
Who will not fear?
The Lord Yahweh has spoken.
Who can but prophesy?
9 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.
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