Amos 3–4

Witnesses Summoned Against Israel

3Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you^j—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:^k

²“You only have I chosen^l

of all the families of the earth;

therefore I will punish^m you

for all your sins.ⁿ”

³Do two walk together

unless they have agreed to do so?

⁴Does a lion roar^o in the thicket

when it has no prey?^p

Does it growl in its den

when it has caught nothing?

⁵Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground

when no bait^q is there?

Does a trap spring up from the ground

if it has not caught anything?

⁶When a trumpet^r sounds in a city,

do not the people tremble?

When disaster^s comes to a city,

has not the Lord caused it?^t

⁷Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing

without revealing his plan^u

to his servants the prophets.^v

⁸The lion^w has roared^x—

who will not fear?

The Sovereign Lord has spoken—

who can but prophesy?^y

⁹Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod^z

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 fortresses^c

what they have plundered^d and looted.”

¹¹Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“An enemy will overrun your land,

pull down your strongholds

and plunder your fortresses.^e”

¹²This is what the Lord says:

“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s^f 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 fabric^a from a couch.^bg”

¹³“Hear this and testify^h 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 horns^k of the altar will be cut off

and fall to the ground.

¹⁵I will tear down the winter house^l

along with the summer house;^m

the houses adorned with ivoryⁿ will be destroyed

and the mansions^o will be demolished,^p”

declares the Lord.^q

Israel Has Not Returned to God

4Hear this word, you cows of Bashan^r on Mount Samaria,^s

you women who oppress the poor^t and crush the needy^u

and say to your husbands,^v “Bring us some drinks!^w”

²The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness:

“The time^x will surely come

when you will be taken away^y with hooks,^z

the last of you with fishhooks.^a

³You will each go straight out

through breaches in the wall,^a

and you will be cast out toward Harmon,^b”

declares the Lord.

⁴“Go to Bethel^b and sin;

go to Gilgal^c and sin yet more.

Bring your sacrifices every morning,^d

your tithes^e every three years.^cf

⁵Burn leavened bread^g as a thank offering

and brag about your freewill offerings^h—

boast about them, you Israelites,

for this is what you love to do,”

declares the Sovereign Lord.

⁶“I gave you empty stomachs in every city

and lack of bread in every town,

yet you have not returned to me,”

declares the Lord.ⁱ

⁷“I also withheld^j rain from you

when the harvest was still three months away.

I sent rain on one town,

but withheld it from another.^k

One field had rain;

another had none and dried up.

⁸People staggered from town to town for water^l

but did not get enough^m to drink,

yet you have not returnedⁿ to me,”

declares the Lord.^o

⁹“Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,

destroying them with blight and mildew.^p

Locusts^q devoured your fig and olive trees,^r

yet you have not returned^s to me,”

declares the Lord.

¹⁰“I sent plagues^t among you

as I did to Egypt.^u

I killed your young men^v with the sword,

along with your captured horses.

I filled your nostrils with the stench^w of your camps,

yet you have not returned to me,”^x

declares the Lord.^y

¹¹“I overthrew some of you

as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.^z

You were like a burning stick^a snatched from the fire,

yet you have not returned to me,”

declares the Lord.^b

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

and because I will do this to you, Israel,

prepare to meet your God.”

¹³He who forms the mountains,^c

who creates the wind,^d

and who reveals his thoughts^e to mankind,

who turns dawn to darkness,

and treads on the heights of the earth^f—

the Lord God Almighty is his name.^g