Witnesses Summoned Against Israel

Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you(A)—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:(B)

“You only have I chosen(C)
    of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish(D) you
    for all your sins.(E)

Do two walk together
    unless they have agreed to do so?
Does a lion roar(F) in the thicket
    when it has no prey?(G)
Does it growl in its den
    when it has caught nothing?
Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
    when no bait(H) is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
    if it has not caught anything?
When a trumpet(I) sounds in a city,
    do not the people tremble?
When disaster(J) comes to a city,
    has not the Lord caused it?(K)

Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
    without revealing his plan(L)
    to his servants the prophets.(M)

The lion(N) has roared(O)
    who will not fear?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
    who can but prophesy?(P)

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

10 “They do not know how to do right,(S)” declares the Lord,
    “who store up in their fortresses(T)
    what they have plundered(U) 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.(V)

12 This is what the Lord says:

“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s(W) 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](X)

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

14 “On the day I punish(Z) Israel for her sins,
    I will destroy the altars of Bethel;(AA)
the horns(AB) of the altar will be cut off
    and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house(AC)
    along with the summer house;(AD)
the houses adorned with ivory(AE) will be destroyed
    and the mansions(AF) will be demolished,(AG)
declares the Lord.(AH)

Israel Has Not Returned to God

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan(AI) on Mount Samaria,(AJ)
    you women who oppress the poor(AK) and crush the needy(AL)
    and say to your husbands,(AM) “Bring us some drinks!(AN)
The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness:
    “The time(AO) will surely come
when you will be taken away(AP) with hooks,(AQ)
    the last of you with fishhooks.[c]
You will each go straight out
    through breaches in the wall,(AR)
    and you will be cast out toward Harmon,[d]
declares the Lord.
“Go to Bethel(AS) and sin;
    go to Gilgal(AT) and sin yet more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,(AU)
    your tithes(AV) every three years.[e](AW)
Burn leavened bread(AX) as a thank offering
    and brag about your freewill offerings(AY)
boast about them, you Israelites,
    for this is what you love to do,”
declares the Sovereign Lord.

“I gave you empty stomachs in every city
    and lack of bread in every town,
    yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.(AZ)

“I also withheld(BA) rain from you
    when the harvest was still three months away.
I sent rain on one town,
    but withheld it from another.(BB)
One field had rain;
    another had none and dried up.
People staggered from town to town for water(BC)
    but did not get enough(BD) to drink,
    yet you have not returned(BE) to me,”
declares the Lord.(BF)

“Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,
    destroying them with blight and mildew.(BG)
Locusts(BH) devoured your fig and olive trees,(BI)
    yet you have not returned(BJ) to me,”
declares the Lord.

10 “I sent plagues(BK) among you
    as I did to Egypt.(BL)
I killed your young men(BM) with the sword,
    along with your captured horses.
I filled your nostrils with the stench(BN) of your camps,
    yet you have not returned to me,”(BO)
declares the Lord.(BP)

11 “I overthrew some of you
    as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.(BQ)
You were like a burning stick(BR) snatched from the fire,
    yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.(BS)

12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel,
    and because I will do this to you, Israel,
    prepare to meet your God.”

13 He who forms the mountains,(BT)
    who creates the wind,(BU)
    and who reveals his thoughts(BV) to mankind,
who turns dawn to darkness,
    and treads on the heights of the earth(BW)
    the Lord God Almighty is his name.(BX)

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.
  3. Amos 4:2 Or away in baskets, / the last of you in fish baskets
  4. Amos 4:3 Masoretic Text; with a different word division of the Hebrew (see Septuagint) out, you mountain of oppression
  5. Amos 4:4 Or days

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