Amos 3
1 Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:
Hear you this word, O house of Israel, which the Lord has spoken concerning you, and against the whole family whom I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying,
2 “Only you have I known from all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
You especially have I known out of all the families of the earth: therefore will I take vengeance upon you for all your sins.
3 Can two walk together without agreeing where to go?
Shall two walk together at all, if they do not know one another?
4 Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl in his den if he has caught nothing?
Will a lion roar out of his thicket if he has no prey? will a [lion's] whelp utter his voice at all out of his lair, if he have taken nothing?
5 Does a bird land in a snare where no bait has been set? Does a trap spring from the ground when it has nothing to catch?
Will a bird fall on the earth without a fowler? will a snare be taken up from the earth without having taken anything?
6 If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
Shall the trumpet sound in the city, and the people not be alarmed? shall there be evil in a city which the Lord has not wrought?
7 Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.
For the Lord God will do nothing, without revealing instruction to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared— who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken— who will not prophesy?
A lion shall roar, and who will not be alarmed? the Lord God has spoken, and who will not prophesy?
9 Proclaim to the citadels of Ashdod and to the citadels of Egypt: “Assemble on the mountains of Samaria; see the great unrest in the city and the acts of oppression in her midst.”
Proclaim it to the regions among the Assyrians, and to the regions of Egypt, and say, Gather yourselves to the mountain of Samaria, and behold many wonderful things in the midst of it, and the oppression that is in it.
10 “For they know not how to do right,” declares the LORD. “They store up violence and destruction in their citadels.”
And she knew not what things would come against her, says the Lord, [even] those that store up wrong and misery in their countries.
11 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “An enemy will surround the land; he will pull down your strongholds and plunder your citadels.”
Therefore thus says the Lord God; O Tyre, your land shall be made desolate round about [you]; and he shall bring down your strength out of you, and your countries shall be spoiled.
12 This is what the LORD says: “As the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites dwelling in Samaria will be rescued having just the corner of a bed or the cushion of a couch.
Thus says the Lord; As when a shepherd rescues from the mouth of a lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall be drawn forth the children of Israel who dwell in Samaria in the presence of [a foreign] tribe, and in Damascus.
13 Hear and testify against the house of Jacob, declares the Lord GOD, the God of Hosts.
Hear, O you priests, and testify to the house of Jacob, says the Lord God Almighty.
14 On the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off, and they will fall to the ground.
For in the day wherein I shall take vengeance of the sins of Israel upon him, I will also take vengeance on the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be broken down, and they shall fall upon the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house; the houses of ivory will also perish, and the great houses will come to an end,”
I will crush and strike the turreted-house upon the summer-house; and the ivory-houses shall be destroyed, and many other houses also, says the Lord.
