Amos 3:13

13 Hear ye, and witness ye in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God of hosts.

Amos 3:13 Meaning and Commentary

Amos 3:13

Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob
The prophets and priests, whose business it was to speak to the people from the Lord, and declare his will to them, and to admonish them of their sin and danger, are here called upon to hearken to what the Lord was about to say, and to testify and publish it to the people of Israel, the posterity of Jacob, though sadly degenerated: saith the Lord God, the God of hosts;
the eternal Jehovah, the Being of beings, the God of the whole earth, the God of the armies above and below; and, being so great, ought to be heard with the greatest attention and reverence in what follows.

Amos 3:13 In-Context

11 Therefore the Lord God saith these things, The land shall be troubled, and be (en)compassed; and thy strength shall be drawn down of thee, and thine houses shall be ravished [and thine houses shall be robbed]. (And so the Lord God saith these things, The land shall be troubled, and surrounded; and thy strength shall be drawn out of thee/and thy fortress shall be pulled down, and thy palaces shall be robbed.)

12 The Lord saith these things, As if a shepherd ravisheth from the mouth of a lion twain hips, either the last thing of the ear, so the children of Israel shall be ravished, that dwell in Samaria, in the country of (a) bed, and in the bed of Damascus. (The Lord saith these things, Like a shepherd taketh out of the mouth of a lion only two legs, or the last part of an ear, so only a few Israelites, who live in Samaria, shall be rescued, from the corner of a bed there, and from their beds in Damascus.)

13 Hear ye, and witness ye in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God of hosts.

14 For in the day, when I shall begin to visit the trespassings of Israel on him, I shall visit also on the altars of Bethel; and the horns of the altar shall be cut away, and shall fall down into the earth. (For on the day, when I shall begin to punish Israel for their trespasses, I shall destroy the altars of Bethel; and the corners of the altars shall be cut off, and shall fall to the ground.)

15 And I shall smite the winter house with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish, and many houses shall be destroyed, saith the Lord. (And I shall strike both the winter house and the summer house, and the ivory houses, or the palaces, shall perish, yea, every great house shall be destroyed, saith the Lord.)