Amos 3
3
1People of Israel,
I rescued you from Egypt.
Now listen to my judgment
against you.
2Of all nations on earth,
you are the only one
I have chosen.
That's why I will punish you
because of your sins.
The Work of a Prophet
3Can two people walk together
without agreeing to meet?
4Does a lion roar in the forest
unless it has caught
a victim?
Does it growl in its den
unless it is eating?
5How can anyone catch a bird
without using a net?
Does a trap spring shut
unless something is caught?
6Isn't the whole city frightened
when the trumpet
signals an attack?
Isn't the Lord the one who brings
disaster on a city?
7Whatever the Lord God
plans to do,
he tells his servants,
the prophets.
8Everyone is terrified
when a lion roars—
and ordinary people
become prophets
when the Lord God speaks.
Samaria Is Doomed
9Here is a message
for the leaders
of Philistia#3.9 Philistia: The Hebrew text has “Ashdod,” one of the leading cities of Philistia. and Egypt—
tell everyone to come together
on the hills of Samaria.
Let them see the injustice
and the lawlessness
in that city.
10The Lord has said
that they don't even know how
to do right.
They have become rich
from violence and robbery.
11And so the Lord God has sworn
that they will be surrounded.
Enemies will break through
their defenses
and steal their treasures.
12The Lord has promised
that only a few from Samaria
will escape with their lives
and with some broken pieces
of their beds and couches.#3.12 some … couches: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
It will be like when a shepherd
rescues two leg bones
and part of a sheep's ear
from the jaws of a lion.#3.12 lion: When a wild animal attacked and killed a sheep, the shepherd had to rescue part of the sheep and take it to the owner as proof that it had been killed by an animal. Otherwise, the shepherd had to pay the owner the cost of the sheep.
The Altars at Bethel
13The Lord God All-Powerful
told me to speak this message
against Jacob's descendants:
14 #
2 K 23.15. When I, the Lord, punish Israel
for their sins,
I will destroy the altars
at Bethel.
Even the corners of the altar#3.14 altar: Altars were places of worship but also places of protection. People whose lives were in danger could grab hold of the corners of an altar, and no one was allowed to kill them.
will be left in the dirt.
15I will tear down winter homes
and summer homes.
Houses decorated with ivory
and all other mansions
will be gone forever.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
Currently Selected:
Amos 3: CEVDCI
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Amos 3
3
Witnesses summoned against Israel
1Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you – against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:
2‘You only have I chosen
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish you
for all your sins.’
3Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
4Does a lion roar in the thicket
when it has no prey?
Does it growl in its den
when it has caught nothing?
5Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
when no bait is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
if it has not caught anything?
6When a trumpet sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When disaster comes to a city,
has not the Lord caused it?
7Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
without revealing his plan
to his servants the prophets.
8The lion has roared –
who will not fear?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken –
who can but prophesy?
9Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod
and to the fortresses of Egypt:
‘Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;
see the great unrest within her
and the oppression among her people.’
10‘They do not know how to do right,’ declares the Lord,
‘who store up in their fortresses
what they have plundered and looted.’
11Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
‘An enemy will overrun your land,
pull down your strongholds
and plunder your fortresses.’
12This is what the Lord says:
‘As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s 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#3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain. from a couch.#3:12 Or Israelites be rescued, / those who sit in Samaria / on the edge of their beds / and in Damascus on their couches.’
13‘Hear this and testify against the descendants of Jacob,’ declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.
14‘On the day I punish Israel for her sins,
I will destroy the altars of Bethel;
the horns of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15I will tear down the winter house
along with the summer house;
the houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed
and the mansions will be demolished,’
declares the Lord.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
The Holy Bible, New International Version® (Anglicised), NIV®
Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission of Biblica, Inc.® All rights reserved worldwide.