Amos 3

The Lord Judges His Chosen People

3People of Israel, listen to the Lord’s message. It is against you. It is against the whole family he brought up out of Egypt. He says,

²“Out of all of the families on earth

I have chosen only you.

So I will punish you

because you have committed so many sins.”

³Do two people walk together

unless they’ve agreed to do so?

⁴Does a lion roar in the bushes

when it doesn’t have any food?

Does it growl in its den

when it hasn’t caught anything?

⁵Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground

where no one has set a trap for it?

Does a net spring up from the earth

when there isn’t anything for it to catch?

⁶When someone blows a trumpet in a city,

don’t the people tremble with fear?

When trouble comes to a city,

hasn’t the Lord caused it?

⁷The Lord and King never does anything

without telling his servants the prophets about it.

⁸A lion has roared.

Who isn’t afraid?

The Lord and King has spoken.

Who can do anything but prophesy?

⁹Speak to the people in the forts of Ashdod and Egypt.

Tell them, “Gather together

on the mountains of Samaria.

Look at the great trouble in that city.

Its people are committing many crimes.”

¹⁰“They do not know how to do what is right,”

announces the Lord.

“They pile up stolen goods in their forts.”

¹¹So the Lord and King says,

“Enemies will take over your land.

They will pull down your places of safety.

They will rob your forts.”

¹²The Lord says,

“Suppose a shepherd saves only two leg bones

from a lion’s mouth.

Or he might save only a piece of an ear.

That is how the Israelites will be saved.

They sit in Samaria

on the edge of their beds.

They lie down in Damascus

on their couches.”

¹³“Listen to me,” announces the Lord. “Witness against the people of Jacob,” says the Lord God who rules over all.

¹⁴“I will punish Israel for their sins.

When I do, I will destroy their altars at Bethel.

The horns that stick out from the upper corners

of their main altar will be cut off.

They will fall to the ground.

¹⁵I will tear their winter houses down.

I will also pull down their summer houses.

The houses they have decorated with ivory will be destroyed.

And their princely houses will be torn down,”

announces the Lord.