Amos 3 - Christian Standard Bible Anglicised（CSBA）

God’s Reasons for Punishing Israel

1Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, Israelites, against the entire clan that I brought from the land of Egypt: 

2I have known only you 

out of all the clans of the earth;

therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities. 

3Can two walk together 

without agreeing to meet?

4Does a lion roar  in the forest

when it has no prey?

Does a young lion growl from its lair

unless it has captured something?

5Does 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?

6If 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? 

7Indeed, the Lord God does nothing

without revealing his counsel

to his servants the prophets. 

8A lion has roared; 

who will not fear?

The Lord God has spoken; 

who will not prophesy? 

9Proclaim 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. 

10The people are incapable of doing right   –

this is the  Lord’s declaration –

those who store up violence and destruction 

in their citadels.

11Therefore, the Lord God says:

An enemy  will surround the land;

he will destroy  your strongholds

and plunder your citadels. 

12The 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  cushion  of a couch.  ,

13Listen and testify  against the house of Jacob –

this is the declaration of the Lord God,

the God of Armies.

14I 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. 

15I 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.