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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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Announce this[a] in the fortified citadels of Ashdod,
    and in the fortified citadels of the land of Egypt.
Tell them, ‘Gather together on the mountains of Samaria;
    look at the great misery among the citadels,[b]
        along with the oppression within Egypt.’[c]
10 Because they do not know how to act right,”
    declares the Lord,
“they are filling their strongholds with treasures
    that they took from others by violence into their fortified citadels.”

11 Therefore this is what the Lord God says:

“An enemy will surround the land.
    He[d] will pull down your defenses,
        and plunder your fortified citadels.”

12 This is what the Lord says:

“Just as a shepherd might save from the lion’s mouth
    only two leg bones or a scrap of an ear,
the Israelis will be saved in a similar manner—
    those in Samaria who sit on the remains of their broken beds,[e]
        and those in Damascus who lie on the edge of their couches.”

13 “Listen and testify against the house of Jacob,”
    declares the Lord God, the God of the Heavenly Armies,
14 “because on that day I will lay out the charges against Israel.
    I will also bring judgment upon the altars of Bethel;
the horns of the altar will be cut off
    and will fall to the ground.
15 I will wreck both the winter house and the summer house,
    and the ivory houses will fall.[f]
These palaces will surely fall,”
    declares the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 3:9 The Heb. lacks this
  2. Amos 3:9 Lit. them
  3. Amos 3:9 Lit. her; i.e. Egypt personified as a woman
  4. Amos 3:11 I.e. the invading forces personified as an individual
  5. Amos 3:12 Lit. on the corner of a bed
  6. Amos 3:15 Lit. perish