Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod(A)
    and to the fortresses of Egypt:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;(B)
    see the great unrest within her
    and the oppression among her people.”

10 “They do not know how to do right,(C)” declares the Lord,
    “who store up in their fortresses(D)
    what they have plundered(E) and looted.”

11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“An enemy will overrun your land,
    pull down your strongholds
    and plunder your fortresses.(F)

12 This is what the Lord says:

“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s(G) mouth
    only two leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued,
    with only the head of a bed
    and a piece of fabric[a] from a couch.[b](H)

13 “Hear this and testify(I) against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.

14 “On the day I punish(J) Israel for her sins,
    I will destroy the altars of Bethel;(K)
the horns(L) of the altar will be cut off
    and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house(M)
    along with the summer house;(N)
the houses adorned with ivory(O) will be destroyed
    and the mansions(P) will be demolished,(Q)
declares the Lord.(R)

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Amos 3:12 Or Israelites be rescued, / those who sit in Samaria / on the edge of their beds / and in Damascus on their couches.

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