Amos 3
God’s Reasons for Punishing Israel
1 Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, Israelites, against the entire clan that I brought from the land of Egypt: a 2 I have known only you bout of all the clans of the earth;
therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities. c
3 Can two walk together d
without agreeing to meet? ▼
▼LXX reads without meeting
4 Does a lion roar f in the forest
when it has no prey?
Does a young lion growl from its lair
unless it has captured something?
5 Does a bird land in a trap on the ground
if there is no bait for it?
Does a trap spring from the ground
when it has caught nothing?
6 If a ram’s horn g is blown in a city,
aren’t people afraid? h
If a disaster i occurs in a city,
hasn’t the Lord done it? j
7 Indeed, the Lord God does nothing
without revealing His counsel
to His servants the prophets. k
8 A lion has roared; l
who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken; m
who will not prophesy? n
9 Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod o
and on the citadels in the land of Egypt:
Assemble on the mountains of Samaria p
and see the great turmoil in the city
and the acts of oppression within it. q
10 The people are incapable of doing right r –
this is the Lord’s declaration –
those who store up violence and destruction s
in their citadels.
11 Therefore, the Lord God says:An enemy t will surround the land;
he will destroy u your strongholds
and plunder your citadels. v
12The Lord says:As the shepherd snatches two legs
or a piece of an ear
from the lion’s mouth, w
so the Israelites who live in Samaria
will be rescued
with only the corner of a bed x
or the ▼
▼Or Israelites will be rescued, those who sit in Samaria on a corner of a bed or a
cushion ▼▼Hb obscure
of a couch. ▼▼LXX, Aq, Sym, Theod, Syr, Tg, Vg read or in Damascus
,
ab 13 Listen and testify ac against the house of Jacob –
this is the declaration of the Lord God,
the God of ▼
▼Hosts/hosts: Military forces consisting of God's angels, sometimes including the sun, moon, and stars, and occasionally, Israel
Hosts.14 I will punish the altars of Bethel ae
on the day I punish Israel for its crimes;
the horns of the altar af will be cut off
and fall to the ground. ag
15 I will demolish the winter house ah
and the summer house; ai
the houses inlaid with ivory aj will be destroyed,
and the great houses ak will come to an end.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
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