Amos 3–4

Warning to Israel

3Listen to this word that the Lord has spoken against you, people of Israel, against the whole family he brought out of Egypt.

²“I have chosen only you

out of all the families of the earth,

so I will punish you

for all your sins.”

³Two people will not walk together

unless they have agreed to do so.

⁴A lion in the forest does not roar

unless it has caught an animal;

it does not growl in its den

when it has caught nothing.

⁵A bird will not fall into a trap

where there is no bait;

the trap will not spring shut

if there is nothing to catch.

⁶When a trumpet blows a warning in a city,

the people tremble.

When trouble comes to a city,

the Lord has caused it.

⁷Before the Lord God does anything,

he tells his plans to his servants the prophets.

⁸The lion has roared!

Who wouldn’t be afraid?

The Lord God has spoken.

Who will not prophesy?

⁹Announce this to the strong buildings of Ashdod

and to the strong buildings of Egypt:

“Come to the mountains of Samaria,

where you will see great confusion

and people hurting others.”

¹⁰“The people don’t know how to do what is right,” says the Lord.

“Their strong buildings are filled with treasures they took by force from others.”

¹¹So this is what the Lord God says:

“An enemy will take over the land

and pull down your strongholds;

he will take the treasures out of your strong buildings.”

¹²This is what the Lord says:

“A shepherd might save from a lion’s mouth

only two leg bones or a scrap of an ear of his sheep.

In the same way only a few Israelites in Samaria will be saved—

people who now sit on their beds

and on their couches.”

¹³“Listen and be witnesses against the family of Jacob,” says the Lord God, the God All-Powerful.

¹⁴“When I punish Israel for their sins,

I will also destroy the altars at Bethel.

The corners of the altar will be cut off,

and they will fall to the ground.

¹⁵I will tear down the winter house,

together with the summer house.

The houses decorated with ivory will be destroyed,

and the great houses will come to an end,” says the Lord.

Israel Will Not Return

4Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan ⁿ on the Mountain of Samaria.

You take things from the poor

and crush people who are in need.

Then you command your husbands,

“Bring us something to drink!”

²The Lord God has promised this:

“Just as surely as I am a holy God,

the time will come

when you will be taken away by hooks,

and what is left of you with fishhooks.

³You will go straight out of the city

through holes in the walls,

and you will be thrown on the garbage dump,” says the Lord.

⁴“Come to the city of Bethel and sin;

come to Gilgal and sin even more.

Offer your sacrifices every morning,

and bring one-tenth of your crops every three days.

⁵Offer bread made with yeast as a sacrifice to show your thanks,

and brag about the special offerings you bring,

because this is what you love to do, Israelites,” says the Lord God.

⁶“I did not give you any food in your cities,

and there was not enough to eat in any of your towns,

but you did not come back to me,” says the Lord.

⁷“I held back the rain from you

three months before harvest time.

Then I let it rain on one city

but not on another.

Rain fell on one field,

but another field got none and dried up.

⁸People weak from thirst went from town to town for water,

but they could not get enough to drink.

Still you did not come back to me,” says the Lord.

⁹“I made your crops die from disease and mildew.

When your gardens and your vineyards got larger,

locusts ate your fig and olive trees.

But still you did not come back to me,” says the Lord.

¹⁰“I sent disasters against you,

as I did to Egypt.

I killed your young men with swords,

and your horses were taken from you.

I made you smell the stink from all the dead bodies,

but still you did not come back to me,” says the Lord.

¹¹“I destroyed some of you

as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

You were like a burning stick pulled from a fire,

but still you did not come back to me,” says the Lord.

¹²“So this is what I will do to you, Israel;

because I will do this to you,

get ready to meet your God, Israel.”

¹³He is the one who makes the mountains

and creates the wind

and makes his thoughts known to people.

He changes the dawn into darkness

and walks over the mountains of the earth.

His name is the Lord God All-Powerful.