Amos 2:6-3:8

New King James Version

“For three transgressions of ^(A)Israel, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because ^(B)they sell the righteous for silver,
And the ^(C)poor for a pair of sandals.
⁷ They ^[a]pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor,
And ^(D)pervert the way of the humble.
^(E)A man and his father go in to the same girl,
^(F)To defile My holy name.
⁸ They lie down ^(G)by every altar on clothes ^(H)taken in pledge,
And drink the wine of ^[b]the condemned in the house of their god.

⁹ “Yet it was I who destroyed the ^(I)Amorite before them,
Whose height was like the ^(J)height of the cedars,
And he was as strong as the oaks;
Yet I ^(K)destroyed his fruit above
And his roots beneath.
¹⁰ Also it was ^(L)I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,
And ^(M)led you forty years through the wilderness,
To possess the land of the Amorite.
¹¹ I raised up some of your sons as ^(N)prophets,
And some of your young men as ^(O)Nazirites.
Is it not so, O you children of Israel?”
Says the Lord.
¹² “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,
And commanded the prophets ^(P)saying,
‘Do not prophesy!’

¹³ “Behold,^(Q) I am ^[c]weighed down by you,
As a cart full of sheaves ^[d]is weighed down.
^14 (R)Therefore ^[e]flight shall perish from the swift,
The strong shall not strengthen his power,
^(S)Nor shall the mighty ^[f]deliver himself;
¹⁵ He shall not stand who handles the bow,
The swift of foot shall not ^[g]escape,
Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.
¹⁶ The most ^[h]courageous men of might
Shall flee naked in that day,”
Says the Lord.

² “You^(T) only have I known of all the families of the earth;
^(U)Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

³ Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
⁴ Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?
Will a young lion ^[i]cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?
⁵ Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no ^[j]trap for it?
Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all?
⁶ If a ^[k]trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid?
^(V)If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?

⁷ Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless ^(W)He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
⁸ A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken!
^(X)Who can but prophesy?