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Words of doom for Israel

Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought out of the land of Egypt:

You only have I loved so deeply
        of all the families of the earth.
    Therefore, I will punish you
        for all your wrongdoing.
    Will two people walk together
        unless they have agreed to do so?[a]
    Does a lion roar in the forest
        when it has no prey?
    Does a young lion cry out from its den
        if it has caught nothing?
    Will a bird fall into a trap on the ground
        when there is no bait for it?
    Will a trap spring up from the ground
        when it has taken nothing?
    If a ram’s horn is blown in a city,
        won’t people tremble?
    If disaster falls on a city,
        is it the Lord who has done it?
    Surely the Lord God does nothing
        without revealing his secret
        to his servants the prophets.

    A lion has roared;
        who will not fear?
    The Lord God has spoken;
        who can but prophesy?
    Proclaim it to the palaces of Ashdod
        and to the palaces in the land of Egypt.
    Say, “Gather yourselves on Mount Samaria,
        and see the great turmoil in the city,
        and what violent deeds are inside it.”
10 They don’t know how to do right,
says the Lord
        those who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.
11 Therefore, the Lord my God proclaims:
        An enemy will surround the land;
    he will bring you down from your protected places,
        and your palaces will be robbed.

12 The Lord proclaims:

Just as the shepherd rescues two legs or the piece of an ear from the mouth of the lion, so will the people of Israel be rescued. Those who live in Samaria will escape with the corner of a bed, and those in Damascus with a piece of a couch.[b]

13 Hear this and speak against the house of Jacob,
        says the Lord God, the God of heavenly forces:
14 On the day I punish the crimes of Israel,
    I will also visit the altars of Bethel;
        the horns of the altar will be cut off
        and will fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house as well as the summer house;
        the houses of ivory will perish;
        the great houses will be swept away,
says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 3:3 Or Will two walk together unless they have agreed?
  2. Amos 3:12 Heb uncertain

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)

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.