Amos 3

Modern English Version

² You alone have I known
    of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
    for all your iniquities.

³ Do two people walk together,
    if they have not agreed?
⁴ Does a lion roar in the forest,
    if it has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from its den,
    if it has not caught something?
⁵ Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground,
    if there was no snare for it?
Does a trap spring up from the ground,
    if it has not caught something?
⁶ If the trumpet blasts in the city,
    are not the people frightened?
If there is disaster against a city,
    is it not the Lord who has done it?

⁷ Surely the Lord God does nothing
    without revealing His purpose
    to His servants the prophets.

⁸ The lion has roared;
    who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;
    who can but prophesy?

⁹ Proclaim to the fortresses in Ashdod,
    and the fortresses in the land of Egypt, and say:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria,
    and see the great disorders within her,
    and the oppression in her midst.”

¹⁰ They do not know how to do right, says the Lord,
    storing up violence and destruction in their fortresses.

An enemy will surround your land;
    he will tear down your defenses,
    and your fortresses will be plundered.

As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion
    a pair of legs or a piece of an ear,
    so will the children of Israel be rescued,
those who live in Samaria,
    with the corner of a bed
    or a piece of a couch.

¹⁴ Surely on the day I punish the transgressions of Israel,
    I will also punish the altars of Bethel;
the horns of the altar will be cut off
    and fall to the ground.
¹⁵ I will destroy the winter house
    as well as the summer house,
and the houses of ivory will perish;
    the great houses will come to an end,
    says the Lord.