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Amos 3-4
GOD’S WORD Translation
Amos 3-4
GOD’S WORD Translation
The Lord Will Punish Israel for Its Immoral Behavior
3 Listen to this message which I, the Lord, have spoken against you Israelites, against your whole family that I brought out of Egypt.
2 Out of all the families on earth, I have known no one else but you.
That is why I am going to punish you for all your sins.
3 Do two people ever walk together without meeting first?
4 Does a lion roar in the forest if it has no prey?
Does a young lion growl in its den unless it has caught something?
5 Does a bird land in a trap on the ground if there’s no bait in it?
Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has caught something?
6 If a ram’s horn sounds an alarm in a city, won’t the people be alarmed?
If there is a disaster in a city, hasn’t the Lord done it?
7 Certainly, the Almighty Lord doesn’t do anything
unless he ⌞first⌟ reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared. Who isn’t afraid?
The Almighty Lord has spoken. Who can keep from prophesying?
9 Announce in the palaces of Ashdod and in the palaces of Egypt,
“Gather together on the mountains of Samaria.
See the widespread confusion and oppression in Samaria.”
10 Those who collect profits in their palaces
through violent and destructive acts
don’t know how to do what is right, declares the Lord.
11 This is what the Almighty Lord says:
An enemy will surround your land,
strip you of your defenses,
and loot your palaces.
12 This is what the Lord says:
As a shepherd rescues two legs or a piece of an ear out of a lion’s mouth,
so the Israelites living in Samaria will be rescued,
⌞having only⌟ a corner of a bed or a piece of a couch.[a]
13 Listen, and testify against the descendants of Jacob,
declares the Almighty Lord, the God of Armies.
14 On the day I punish Israel for its disobedience,
I will also destroy the altars at Bethel.
The horns of the altar will be cut off and will fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down winter houses as well as summer houses.
Houses ⌞decorated⌟ with ivory will be destroyed.
Mansions will be demolished, declares the Lord.
The Lord Will Punish the Women of Samaria
4 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan who live on Mount Samaria.
You women oppress the poor and abuse the needy.
You say to your husbands, “Get some wine! Let’s drink!”
2 The Almighty Lord has taken an oath on his holiness:
Surely, the time is going to come
when you will be taken away on hooks,
and the rest of you on fishhooks.
3 Each of you will leave ⌞the city⌟
through breaks in the wall, one woman ahead of another.
You will be thrown into a garbage dump.
The Lord declares this.
4 Go to Bethel and sin.
Go to Gilgal and sin even more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning.
Bring a tenth of your income every three days.
5 Burn bread as a thank offering.
Brag and boast about your freewill offerings.
This is what you people of Israel love to do.
The Almighty Lord declares this.
6 I left you with nothing to eat in any of your cities.
I left you with no food in your entire land.
And you still didn’t return to me, declares the Lord.
7 I stopped the rain from falling
three months before the harvest.
I sent rain on one city and not on another.
One field had rain.
Another field had none and dried up.
8 So people from two or three cities staggered
as they walked to another city in order to get a drink of water.
But they couldn’t get enough.
And you still didn’t return to me, declares the Lord.
9 I struck your ⌞crops⌟ with blight and mildew.
Locusts repeatedly devoured your gardens, vineyards,
fig trees, and olive trees.
And you still didn’t return to me, declares the Lord.
10 I sent plagues on you as I did to Egypt.
With swords I killed your best young men along with your captured horses.
I made the stench from your camps fill your noses.
And you still didn’t return to me, declares the Lord.
11 I destroyed some of you as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
You were like a burning log snatched from a fire.
And you still didn’t return to me, declares the Lord.
12 This is what I will do to you, Israel.
Prepare to meet your God.
This is what I will do to you, Israel!
13 God forms the mountains and creates the wind.
He reveals his thoughts to humans.
He makes dawn and dusk ⌞appear⌟.
He walks on the high places of the earth.
His name is the Lord God of Armies.
Footnotes
- 3:12 Or “a couch of Damascus.”
Amos 3-4
New International Version
Amos 3-4
New International Version
Witnesses Summoned Against Israel
3 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)
2 “You only have I chosen(C)
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish(D) you
for all your sins.(E)”
3 Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
4 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?
5 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?
6 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)
7 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
without revealing his plan(L)
to his servants the prophets.(M)
8 The lion(N) has roared(O)—
who will not fear?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
who can but prophesy?(P)
9 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
4 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)”
2 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]
3 You will each go straight out
through breaches in the wall,(AR)
and you will be cast out toward Harmon,[d]”
declares the Lord.
4 “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)
5 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.
6 “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)
7 “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.
8 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)
9 “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.”
Footnotes
- Amos 3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Amos 3:12 Or Israelites be rescued, / those who sit in Samaria / on the edge of their beds / and in Damascus on their couches.
- Amos 4:2 Or away in baskets, / the last of you in fish baskets
- Amos 4:3 Masoretic Text; with a different word division of the Hebrew (see Septuagint) out, you mountain of oppression
- Amos 4:4 Or days
GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
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