Amos 3-4
New King James Version
Authority of the Prophet’s Message
3 Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:
2 “You(A) only have I known of all the families of the earth;
(B)Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?
Will a young lion [a]cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?
5 Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no [b]trap for it?
Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all?
6 If a [c]trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid?
(C)If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?
7 Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless (D)He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
8 A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken!
(E)Who can but prophesy?
Punishment of Israel’s Sins
9 “Proclaim in the palaces at [d]Ashdod,
And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say:
‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria;
See great tumults in her midst,
And the [e]oppressed within her.
10 For they (F)do not know to do right,’
Says the Lord,
‘Who store up violence and [f]robbery in their palaces.’ ”
11 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“An adversary shall be all around the land;
He shall sap your strength from you,
And your palaces shall be plundered.”
12 Thus says the Lord:
“As a shepherd [g]takes from the mouth of a lion
Two legs or a piece of an ear,
So shall the children of Israel be taken out
Who dwell in Samaria—
In the corner of a bed and [h]on the edge of a couch!
13 Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”
Says the Lord God, the God of hosts,
14 “That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions,
I will also visit destruction on the altars of (G)Bethel;
And the horns of the altar shall be cut off
And fall to the ground.
15 I will [i]destroy (H)the winter house along with (I)the summer house;
The (J)houses of ivory shall perish,
And the great houses shall have an end,”
Says the Lord.
God’s Punishments Have Not Reformed Israel
4 Hear this word, you (K)cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria,
Who oppress the (L)poor,
Who crush the needy,
Who say to [j]your husbands, “Bring wine, let us (M)drink!”
2 (N)The Lord God has sworn by His holiness:
“Behold, the days shall come upon you
When He will take you away (O)with fishhooks,
And your posterity with fishhooks.
3 (P)You will go out through broken walls,
Each one straight ahead of her,
And you will [k]be cast into Harmon,”
Says the Lord.
4 “Come(Q) to Bethel and transgress,
At (R)Gilgal multiply transgression;
(S)Bring your sacrifices every morning,
(T)Your tithes every three [l]days.
5 (U)Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,
Proclaim and announce (V)the freewill offerings;
For this you love,
You children of Israel!”
Says the Lord God.
Israel Did Not Accept Correction
6 “Also I gave you [m]cleanness of teeth in all your cities,
And lack of bread in all your places;
(W)Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.
7 “I also withheld rain from you,
When there were still three months to the harvest.
I made it rain on one city,
I withheld rain from another city.
One part was rained upon,
And where it did not rain the part withered.
8 So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water,
But they were not satisfied;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.
9 “I(X) blasted you with blight and mildew.
When your gardens increased,
Your vineyards,
Your fig trees,
And your olive trees,
(Y)The locust devoured them;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.
10 “I sent among you a plague (Z)after the manner of Egypt;
Your young men I killed with a sword,
Along with your captive horses;
I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.
11 “I overthrew some of you,
As God overthrew (AA)Sodom and Gomorrah,
And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.
12 “Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel;
Because I will do this to you,
(AB)Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
13 For behold,
He who forms mountains,
And creates the [n]wind,
(AC)Who declares to man what [o]his thought is,
And makes the morning darkness,
(AD)Who treads the high places of the earth—
(AE)The Lord God of hosts is His name.
Footnotes
- Amos 3:4 Lit. give his voice
- Amos 3:5 Or bait or lure
- Amos 3:6 ram’s horn
- Amos 3:9 So with MT; LXX Assyria
- Amos 3:9 Or oppression
- Amos 3:10 Or devastation
- Amos 3:12 Or snatches
- Amos 3:12 Heb. uncertain, possibly on the cover
- Amos 3:15 Lit. strike
- Amos 4:1 Lit. their masters or lords
- Amos 4:3 Or cast them
- Amos 4:4 Or years, Deut. 14:28
- Amos 4:6 Hunger
- Amos 4:13 Or spirit
- Amos 4:13 Or His
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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