Amos 3 Christian Standard Bible

God’s Reasons for Punishing Israel

3 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)

²I have known only you^(B)
out of all the clans of the earth;
therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.^(C)
³Can two walk together^(D)
without agreeing to meet?
⁴Does a lion roar^(E) in the forest
when it has no prey?
Does a young lion growl from its lair
unless it has captured something?
⁵Does 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?
⁶If a ram’s horn^(F) is blown in a city,
aren’t people afraid?^(G)
If a disaster^(H) occurs in a city,
hasn’t the Lord done it?^(I)
⁷Indeed, the Lord God does nothing
without revealing his counsel
to his servants the prophets.^(J)
⁸A lion has roared;^(K)
who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;^(L)
who will not prophesy?^(M)

⁹Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod^(N)
and on the citadels in the land of Egypt:
Assemble on the mountains of Samaria,^(O)
and see the great turmoil in the city
and the acts of oppression within it.^(P)
¹⁰The people are incapable of doing right^(Q)—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
those who store up violence and destruction^(R)
in their citadels.

¹¹Therefore, the Lord God says:

An enemy^(S) will surround the land;
he will destroy^(T) your strongholds
and plunder your citadels.^(U)

¹²The Lord says:

As the shepherd snatches two legs
or a piece of an ear
from the lion’s mouth,^(V)
so the Israelites who live in Samaria
will be rescued
with only the corner of a bed^(W)
or the^[a] cushion^[b] of a couch.^[c]^(X)

¹³Listen and testify^(Y) against the house of Jacob—
this is the declaration of the Lord God,
the God of Armies.
¹⁴I will punish the altars of Bethel^(Z)
on the day I punish Israel for its crimes;
the horns of the altar^(AA) will be cut off
and fall to the ground.^(AB)
¹⁵I will demolish the winter house^(AC)
and the summer house;^(AD)
the houses inlaid with ivory^(AE) will be destroyed,
and the great houses^(AF) will come to an end.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Footnotes

3:12 Or Israelites will be rescued, those who sit in Samaria on a corner of a bed or a
3:12 Hb obscure
3:12 LXX, Aq, Sym, Theod, Syr, Tg, Vg read or in Damascus

Cross references

3:1 : Am 2:10
3:2 : Ex 19:5–6; Dt 4:32–37
3:2 : Jr 14:10; Ezk 20:36; Dn 9:12
3:3 : Lv 26:23–24
3:4 : Ps 104:21; Hs 5:14; 11:10
3:6 : Jr 4:5,19,21; 6:1; Hs 5:8; Zph 1:16
3:6 : Nm 10:9; Jr 4:19; Jl 2:1
3:6 : Is 14:24–27; 45:7
3:6 : Lm 3:37–39
3:7 : Gn 18:17; Jr 23:18,22; Jnh 1:2
3:8 : Am 1:2
3:8 : Jnh 1:1–3; 3:1–3
3:8 : Jr 6:10–11; 20:9
3:9 : 1Sm 5:1; Am 1:8
3:9 : Am 4:1; 6:1
3:9 : Am 5:11; 6:8
3:10 : Ps 14:4; Jr 4:22; Am 5:7; 6:12
3:10 : Hab 2:8–10; Zph 1:9; Zch 5:3–4
3:11 : Am 6:14
3:11 : Am 2:14
3:11 : 2Kg 17:5–6; 18:9–12
3:12 : 1Sm 17:34–37
3:12 : Ps 132:3
3:12 : Est 1:6; 7:8; Am 6:4
3:13 : Ezk 2:7
3:14 : Hs 10:5–8,14–15; Am 4:4; 5:5–6; 7:10,13
3:14 : Lv 8:15; 16:18–19; 1Kg 1:50–51; 2:28; Ps 118:27
3:14 : Hs 10:1–2
3:15 : Jr 36:22
3:15 : Jdg 3:20
3:15 : 1Kg 22:39; 2Ch 9:17; Am 6:4
3:15 : Am 2:5; 6:11

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