Amos 3

1 “You people of Israel, I brought all your ancestors out of Egypt; so listen to what I am saying about you.

Hear the word that the Lord hath spoken concerning you, O ye children of Israel: concerning the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying:

2 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.”

You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore will I visit upon you all your iniquities.

3 Two [people] certainly cannot [RHQ] walk together if they have not [already] agreed [about what place they will start walking from].

Shall two walk together except they be agreed?

4 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].

Will a lion roar in the forest, if he have no prey? will the lion’s whelp cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?

5 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.

Will the bird fall into the snare upon the earth, if there be no fowler? Shall the snare be taken up from the earth, before it hath taken somewhat?

6 [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].

Shall the trumpet sound in a city, and the people not be afraid? Shall there be evil in a city, which the Lord hath not done?

7 And whatever Yahweh plans to do, he tells his prophets about it.

For the Lord God doth nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.

8 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].

The lion shall roar, who will not fear? The Lord God hath spoken, who shall not prophesy?

9 [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!”

Publish it in the houses of Azotus, and in the houses of the land of Egypt, and say: Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the many follies in the midst thereof, and them that suffer oppression in the inner rooms thereof.

10 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].

And they have not known to do the right thing, saith the Lord, storing up iniquity, and robberies in their houses.

11 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.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God: The land shall be in tribulation, and shall be compassed about: and thy strength shall be taken away from thee, and thy houses shall be spoiled.

12 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.”

Thus saith the Lord: As if a shepherd should get out of the lion’s mouth two legs, or the tip of the ear: so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria, in a piece of a bed, and in the couch of Damascus.

13 The Commander of the armies of angels said this: “Proclaim [this message] about the descendants [MTY] of Jacob:

Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord the God of hosts:

14 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.

That in the day when I shall begin to visit the transgressions of Israel, I will visit upon him, and upon the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altars shall be cut off, and shall fall to the ground.

15 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!”

And I will strike the winter house with the summer house: and the houses of ivory shall perish, and many houses shall be destroyed, saith the Lord.