Amos 3

Listen to Amos 3

Israel's Guilt and Punishment

1 1Hear 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 2"You only have I known of all the families of the earth; 3therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
3 "Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet?
4 Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing?
5 Does a bird fall in 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 4Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? 5Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?
7 "For the Lord GOD does nothing 6without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared; who will not fear? 7The Lord GOD has spoken; who can but prophesy?"
9 Proclaim to the strongholds in 8Ashdod and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt, and say, "Assemble yourselves on 9the mountains of Samaria, and see the great tumults within her, and 10the oppressed in her midst."
10 "They do not know how to do right," declares the LORD, 11"those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds."
11 Therefore thus says the Lord GOD: 12"An adversary shall surround the land and bring down[a] your defenses from you, and 13your strongholds shall be plundered."
12 Thus says the LORD: 14"As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, 15so shall the people of Israel 16who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part[b] of a bed.
13 "Hear, 17and testify against the house of Jacob," declares the Lord GOD, 18the God of hosts,
14 "that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions, 19I will punish the altars of Bethel, and 20the horns of the altar shall be cut off and fall to the ground.
15 21I will strike 22the winter house along with 23the summer house, and 24the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses[c] shall come to an end," declares the LORD.

Cross References 24

  • 1. Amos 7:16; [Amos 2:10]
  • 2. Deuteronomy 7:6; Deuteronomy 10:15; Psalms 147:19, 20; [Hosea 5:3; Hosea 13:5; Micah 2:3]
  • 3. [Matthew 10:15; Matthew 11:21, 22; Luke 10:13, 14; Luke 12:47; Romans 2:9]
  • 4. Ezekiel 33:4; See Joel 2:1
  • 5. [Isaiah 45:7; Lamentations 3:38; Micah 1:12]
  • 6. Genesis 18:17; [Jeremiah 15:1]
  • 7. [Numbers 22:38]
  • 8. Amos 1:8
  • 9. Amos 4:1; Amos 6:1; [1 Kings 16:24]
  • 10. Psalms 94:5, 6; Psalms 103:6; See 1 Kings 21:1-16
  • 11. [Amos 6:3; Isaiah 3:14, 15]; See Micah 6:10-12
  • 12. [2 Kings 17:5, 6]; See 2 Kings 18:9-12
  • 13. [Isaiah 39:6]
  • 14. [Exodus 22:13]
  • 15. See Jeremiah 31:8, 9
  • 16. [Amos 6:4]
  • 17. [Psalms 50:7; Psalms 81:8]
  • 18. Amos 4:13; Ps. 80:4, 7, 14
  • 19. [Hosea 10:15]; See 1 Kings 13:1-3
  • 20. [2 Kings 23:15]
  • 21. [Amos 6:11]
  • 22. Jeremiah 36:22
  • 23. Judges 3:20
  • 24. 1 Kings 22:39; Psalms 45:8

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Hebrew An adversary, one who surrounds the land - he shall bring down
  • [b]. The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
  • [c]. Or and many houses

Amos 3 Commentaries

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.