Amos 3:1-11

Common English Bible

Words of doom for Israel

3 Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought out of the land of Egypt:

²You only have I loved so deeply
        of all the families of the earth.
    Therefore, I will punish you
        for all your wrongdoing.
³    Will two people walk together
        unless they have agreed to do so?^[a]
⁴    Does a lion roar in the forest
        when it has no prey?
    Does a young lion cry out from its den
        if it has caught nothing?
⁵    Will a bird fall into a trap on the ground
        when there is no bait for it?
    Will a trap spring up from the ground
        when it has taken nothing?
⁶    If a ram’s horn is blown in a city,
        won’t people tremble?
    If disaster falls on a city,
        is it the Lord who has done it?
⁷    Surely the Lord God does nothing
        without revealing his secret
        to his servants the prophets.

⁸    A lion has roared;
        who will not fear?
    The Lord God has spoken;
        who can but prophesy?
⁹    Proclaim it to the palaces of Ashdod
        and to the palaces in the land of Egypt.
    Say, “Gather yourselves on Mount Samaria,
        and see the great turmoil in the city,
        and what violent deeds are inside it.”
¹⁰They don’t know how to do right,
says the Lord—
        those who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.
¹¹Therefore, the Lord my God proclaims:
        An enemy will surround the land;
    he will bring you down from your protected places,
        and your palaces will be robbed.