Amos 3:1–15
Witnesses Summoned Against Israel
3 Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against youj—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:k
2 “You only have I chosenl
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punishm you
for all your sins.n”
unless they have agreed to do so?
4 Does a lion roaro in the thicket
when it has no prey?p
Does it growl in its den
when it has caught nothing?
5 Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
when no baitq is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
if it has not caught anything?
6 When a trumpetr sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When disasters comes to a city,
has not the Lord caused it?t
7 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
without revealing his planu
to his servants the prophets.v
who will not fear?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
who can but prophesy?y
9 Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdodz
and to the fortresses of Egypt:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;a
see the great unrest within her
and the oppression among her people.”
10 “They do not know how to do right,b” declares the Lord,
“who store up in their fortressesc
what they have plunderedd and looted.”
11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“An enemy will overrun your land,
pull down your strongholds
and plunder your fortresses.e”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’sf mouth
only two leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued,
with only the head of a bed
and a piece of fabrica from a couch.b g”
13 “Hear this and testifyh against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.
14 “On the day I punishi Israel for her sins,
I will destroy the altars of Bethel;j
the hornsk of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter housel
along with the summer house;m
the houses adorned with ivoryn will be destroyed
and the mansionso will be demolished,p”
declares the Lord.q