Amos 3

Israel's Guilt and Punishment

¹ Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:

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

³ Do two walk together
unless they have made an appointment?
⁴ Does a lion roar in the forest,
when it has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from its den,
if it has caught nothing?
⁵ Does a bird fall into a snare on the earth,
when there is no trap for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground,
when it has taken nothing?
⁶ Is a trumpet blown in a city,
and the people are not afraid?
Does disaster befall a city,
unless the Lord has done it?

⁷ Surely the Lord God does nothing,
without revealing his secret
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 strongholds in Ashdod,
and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt,
and say, "Assemble yourselves on Mount ₁ Samaria,
and see what great tumults are within it,
and what oppressions are in its midst."
¹⁰ They do not know how to do right, says the Lord,
those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.

¹¹ Therefore thus says the Lord God:
An adversary shall surround the land,
and strip you of your defense;
and your strongholds shall be plundered.

¹² Thus says the Lord: As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who live in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part ₂ of a bed.

¹³ Hear, and testify against the house of Jacob,
says the Lord God, the God of hosts:
¹⁴ On the day I punish Israel for its transgressions,
I will punish the altars of Bethel,
and the horns of the altar shall be cut off
and fall to the ground.
¹⁵ I will tear down the winter house as well as the summer house;
and the houses of ivory shall perish,
and the great houses ₃ shall come to an end,
+qsays the Lord.