Amos 3
1 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,
Listen to this message, Israelites, which the Lord has spoken against you, against the whole nation that I brought out of Egypt:
2 You especially have I known out of all the families of the earth: therefore will I take vengeance upon you for all your sins.
You alone have I cared for of all the nations of the world, this is why I will punish you for your crimes.
3 Shall two walk together at all, if they do not know one another?
Do two walk together unless they agreed to meet?
4 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?
Does a lion roar in the forest when there is no prey for him? Does a young lion cry out in his den unless he has caught something?
5 Will a bird fall on the earth without a fowler? will a snare be taken up from the earth without having taken anything?
Does a bird swoop down into a trap if no bait is set for it? Does a trap spring up from the ground if nothing sets it off?
6 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?
Can a trumpet be blown in a city and the people not tremble? Can disaster strike a city and the Lord not have caused it?
7 For the Lord God will do nothing, without revealing instruction to his servants the prophets.
Surely the Lord God does nothing without revealing his purpose to his servants the prophets.
8 A lion shall roar, and who will not be alarmed? the Lord God has spoken, and who will not prophesy?
The lion has roared; who does not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who will not prophesy?
9 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.
Proclaim over the palaces in Ashdod, and over the palaces in the land of Egypt: Gather upon the mountain of Samaria, and see the violent turmoil, the acts of oppression in her midst.
10 And she knew not what things would come against her, says the Lord, [even] those that store up wrong and misery in their countries.
For they do not know how to do right. They are heaping up violence and oppression in their palaces, says the Lord.
11 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.
Therefore the Lord God says: An enemy will surround the land, he will strip your strength from you. and your palaces will be looted.
12 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.
The Lord says: Just as a shepherd rescues from the jaws of a lion two shinbones or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites living in Sameria will be rescued – with the corner of a couch, and the damask of a divan!
13 Hear, O you priests, and testify to the house of Jacob, says the Lord God Almighty.
Listen and testify against the house of Jacob, says the Lord God, the God of hosts.
14 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.
On the day when I punish Israel for their crimes, I will also visit in judgment the altars of Bethel, the horns of the altar will be hacked off, and they will fall to the ground.
15 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.
I will destroy the winter houses together with the summer houses and the houses of ivory will perish. Many great houses will be swept away, says the Lord.
