amos

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God’s Reasons for Punishing Israel

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Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, Israelites, against the entire clan that I brought from the land of Egypt:

2 I have known only you

out of all the clans of the earth;

therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.

3 Can two walk together

without agreeing to meet?[a]

4 Does a lion roar in the forest

when it has no prey?

Does a young lion growl from its lair

unless it has captured something?

5 Does a bird land in a trap on the ground

if there is no bait for it?

Does a trap spring from the ground

when it has caught nothing?

6 If a ram’s horn is blown in a city,

aren’t people afraid?

If a disaster occurs in a city,

hasn’t the Lord done it?

7 Indeed, the Lord God does nothing

without revealing His counsel

to His servants the prophets.

8 A lion has roared;

who will not fear?

The Lord God has spoken;

who will not prophesy?

9 Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod

and on the citadels in the land of Egypt:

Assemble on the mountains of Samaria

and see the great turmoil in the city

and the acts of oppression within it.

10 The people are incapable of doing right—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

those who store up violence and destruction

in their citadels.

11 Therefore, the Lord God says:

An enemy will surround the land;

he will destroy your strongholds

and plunder your citadels.

12 The Lord says:

As the shepherd snatches two legs

or a piece of an ear

from the lion’s mouth,

so the Israelites who live in Samaria

will be rescued

with only the corner of a bed

or the[b] cushion[c] of a couch.[d]

13 Listen and testify against the house of Jacob—

this is the declaration of the Lord God,

the God of Hosts.

14 I will punish the altars of Bethel

on the day I punish Israel for its crimes;

the horns of the altar will be cut off

and fall to the ground.

15 I will demolish the winter house

and the summer house;

the houses inlaid with ivory will be destroyed,

and the great houses will come to an end.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 3:3 LXX reads without meeting
  2. Amos 3:12 Or Israelites will be rescued, those who sit in Samaria on a corner of a bed or a
  3. Amos 3:12 Hb obscure
  4. Amos 3:12 LXX, Aq, Sym, Theod, Syr, Tg, Vg read or in Damascus