Amos 3:3-6 New English Translation
3 Do two walk together without having met?[a]
4 Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey?[b]
Does a young lion bellow from his den if he has not caught something?
5 Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait?
Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something?
6 If an alarm sounds[c] in a city, do people not fear?[d]
If disaster overtakes a[e] city, is the Lord not responsible?[f]
Footnotes
- Amos 3:3 sn The rhetorical questions in vv. 3-5 expect the answer, “No, of course not!” Those in v. 6 anticipate the answer, “Yes, of course they do/he is.” They all draw attention to the principle of cause and effect and lay the logical foundation for the argument in vv. 7-8. Also note the progression from a general question in v. 3 to the “meetings” of two animals (v. 4), to that of an animal and a human trap (v. 5), to a climax with the confrontation with the Lord (v. 6). Each of these meetings is disastrous.
- Amos 3:4 tn Heb “without having prey [or “food”].”
- Amos 3:6 tn Heb “If the ram’s horn is blown.”
- Amos 3:6 tn Or “tremble” (NASB, NIV, NCV); or “shake.”
- Amos 3:6 tn Heb “is in”; cf. NIV, NCV, NLT “comes to.”
- Amos 3:6 tn Heb “has the Lord not acted?”
New English Translation (NET)
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