Amos 3
1 Hear this word that Jehovah has spoken against you, O sons of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying,
“You people of Israel, I brought all your ancestors out of Egypt; so listen to what I am saying about you.
2 You only I have known of all the families of the earth. Therefore I will visit upon you all your iniquities.
From all the people-groups on the earth, I [chose and] took care of only you. That is the reason that I will punish you for the sins that you have committed.”
3 Shall two walk together unless they have agreed?
Two [people] certainly cannot [RHQ] walk together if they have not [already] agreed [about what place they will start walking from].
4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has taken nothing?
A lion certainly does not [RHQ] roar in the bushes/forest if it has not killed another animal. It does not [RHQ] growl in its den if it is not eating [the flesh of an animal that it has caught].
5 Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no net is set for him? Shall a snare spring up from the ground, and have taken nothing at all?
No one can [RHQ] catch a bird if [he does] not [set] a trap for it. A trap does not spring shut unless some [animal] has not sprung the trap.
6 Shall the trumpet be blown in a city, and the people not be afraid? Shall evil befall a city, and Jehovah has not done it?
[Similarly, all] the people in a city certainly [RHQ] become afraid when [they hear someone] blowing a trumpet [to signal that enemies are attacking]. And when a city experiences disaster, Yahweh is the one who has caused it [RHQ].
7 Surely the lord Jehovah will do nothing unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets.
And whatever Yahweh plans to do, he tells his prophets about it.
8 The lion has roared, who will not fear? The lord Jehovah has spoken, who can but prophesy?
Everyone certainly becomes terrified [RHQ] when they hear a lion roar, and if Yahweh the Lord has given messages [to prophets like me], we certainly must [RHQ] proclaim those messages, [even if they cause people to become terrified].
9 Publish ye in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold what great tumults are in it, and what oppressions are in the midst of it.
[I said this to the leaders of Samaria] (OR, [Yahweh said this to me]): Send this message to the leaders [MET] in Ashdod [city] and to Egypt: “Come to the hills of Samaria and see [the way that their (leaders/wealthy people)] are causing people in that city to be terrified, and [the way that they] are causing the people to suffer!”
10 For they do not know to do right, says Jehovah, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.
Yahweh says that the people there do not know how to do things that are right. Their homes are filled with [valuable things] that they have stolen or [taken] violently [from others].
11 Therefore thus says the lord Jehovah: An adversary shall be, even round about the land, and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be plundered.
So Yahweh [our] God says that [soon] their enemies will come and tear down their (defenses/high city walls) and take away those valuable things.
12 Thus says Jehovah: As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the sons of Israel be rescued who sit in Samaria in the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed.
Yahweh has declared this: “When a lion attacks a sheep, [sometimes] a shepherd will be able to snatch from the lion’s mouth only two legs or an ear of the sheep. Similarly, [only] a few people from Samaria will escape, and [they will be able to rescue only] a part of a couch and a part of a bed.”
13 Hear ye, and testify against the house of Jacob, says the lord Jehovah, the God of hosts.
The Commander of the armies of angels said this: “Proclaim [this message] about the descendants [MTY] of Jacob:
14 For in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.
When I, Yahweh, punish [the people of] Israel because of the sins that they have committed, I will cause the altars at Bethel [town] to be destroyed; even the projections at the corners of the altars will be cut off and fall to the ground.
15 And I will smite the winter house with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, says Jehovah.
I will cause the houses [that they live in during] the (winter/rainy season) and those [in which they live during] the (summer/dry season) to be torn down. [Beautiful] big houses and houses [that are decorated] with ivory will be destroyed. [That will surely happen because I], Yahweh, have said it!”
