Amos 3:9-15

The Voice

⁹Speak to the fortresses of Ashdod
and to the fortresses in the land of Egypt.
Tell their leaders, “Gather on the hillsides in Samaria
and see what great wrongs are done in Israel;
Witness the acts of oppression done there.

¹⁰Eternal One: Those who fill their fortresses with finery through violence and robbery
have no idea how to do what is right.

Israel has forgotten God’s laws, so of course the people can’t follow them. They have fallen into slavery and oppression.

¹¹So the Eternal Lord says to Israel,

Eternal One: An enemy will surround and besiege your land.
It will overwhelm your defenses, and your fortresses will be plundered.

¹²Just as the shepherd rescues two legs or the tip of an ear from the hungry lion, that is the kind of rescue the wealthy people of God dwelling in Samaria will see: only a small piece of fabric from their luxurious linens and furnishings will remain.^[a]

¹³Listen to what I am saying, and testify against Jacob’s house.

The Eternal Lord, the Commander of heavenly armies, says,

¹⁴Eternal One: On the day I punish Israel for its wrongdoing,
        I will also fall upon the altars of Bethel, that center of cultic worship,
    Where the horns of the altar will be hacked off
        and topple to the ground, making their illegal sacrifice impossible.
¹⁵    I will demolish the winter house of the rich and the summer house as well;
        their palaces decorated with ivory will be torn down,
    And their fine mansions will be laid low.