THE PROPHET MUST SPEAK GOD'S WORD
Key verse: 8
NIV
Witnesses Summoned Against Israel
3 Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you(A)—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:(B)
2 “You only have I chosen(C)
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish(D) you
for all your sins.(E)”
3 Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
4 Does a lion roar(F) in the thicket
when it has no prey?(G)
Does it growl in its den
when it has caught nothing?
5 Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
when no bait(H) is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
if it has not caught anything?
6 When a trumpet(I) sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When disaster(J) comes to a city,
has not the Lord caused it?(K)
7 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
without revealing his plan(L)
to his servants the prophets.(M)
8 The lion(N) has roared(O)—
who will not fear?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
who can but prophesy?(P)
9 Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod(Q)
and to the fortresses of Egypt:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;(R)
see the great unrest within her
and the oppression among her people.”
10 “They do not know how to do right,(S)” declares the Lord,
“who store up in their fortresses(T)
what they have plundered(U) and looted.”
11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“An enemy will overrun your land,
pull down your strongholds
and plunder your fortresses.(V)”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s(W) 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.[b](X)”
13 “Hear this and testify(Y) against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.
14 “On the day I punish(Z) Israel for her sins,
I will destroy the altars of Bethel;(AA)
the horns(AB) of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house(AC)
along with the summer house;(AD)
the houses adorned with ivory(AE) will be destroyed
and the mansions(AF) will be demolished,(AG)”
declares the Lord.(AH)
Footnotes
Cross references
- Amos 3:1 : Zep 2:5
- Amos 3:1 : S Am 2:10
- Amos 3:2 : S Ex 19:6; Dt 7:6; Lk 12:47
- Amos 3:2 : ver 14
- Amos 3:2 : S Jer 14:10; Mic 2:3; 1Pe 4:17
- Amos 3:4 : S Isa 42:13
- Amos 3:4 : Ps 104:21; S Hos 5:14
- Amos 3:5 : S Ps 119:110
- Amos 3:6 : S Nu 10:2; S Job 39:24; S Jer 4:21
- Amos 3:6 : S Isa 31:2
- Amos 3:6 : Isa 14:24-27
- Amos 3:7 : Ge 18:17; S 1Sa 3:7; S Da 9:22; Jn 15:15; Rev 10:7
- Amos 3:7 : S Jer 23:22
- Amos 3:8 : S Isa 31:4
- Amos 3:8 : S Isa 42:13
- Amos 3:8 : S Jer 20:9; Jnh 1:1-3; 3:1-3; Ac 4:20
- Amos 3:9 : S Jos 13:3; S 2Ch 26:6
- Amos 3:9 : Am 4:1; 6:1
- Amos 3:10 : Am 5:7; 6:12
- Amos 3:10 : S Ps 36:3; Mic 6:10; Zep 1:9
- Amos 3:10 : Hab 2:8
- Amos 3:11 : Am 2:5; 6:14
- Amos 3:12 : S 1Sa 17:34
- Amos 3:12 : S Est 1:6; Am 6:4
- Amos 3:13 : Eze 2:7
- Amos 3:14 : S ver 2; S Lev 26:18
- Amos 3:14 : S Ge 12:8; Am 5:5-6
- Amos 3:14 : S Ex 27:2
- Amos 3:15 : Jer 36:22
- Amos 3:15 : Jdg 3:20
- Amos 3:15 : S 1Ki 22:39
- Amos 3:15 : Am 5:11; 6:11
- Amos 3:15 : S Isa 34:5
- Amos 3:15 : Hos 10:5-8, 14-15
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway
ESV
Israel's Guilt and Punishment
3 (A)Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:
2 (B)“You only have I known
of all the families of the earth;
(C)therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities.
3 “Do two walk together,
unless they have agreed to meet?
4 Does a lion roar in the forest,
when he has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from his den,
if he has taken nothing?
5 Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth,
when there is no trap for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground,
when it has taken nothing?
6 (D)Is a trumpet blown in a city,
and the people are not afraid?
(E)Does disaster come to a city,
unless the Lord has done it?
7 “For the Lord God does nothing
(F)without revealing his secret
to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared;
who will not fear?
(G)The Lord God has spoken;
who can but prophesy?”
9 Proclaim to the strongholds in (H)Ashdod
and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt,
and say, “Assemble yourselves on (I)the mountains of Samaria,
and see the great tumults within her,
and (J)the oppressed in her midst.”
10 “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,
(K)“those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.”
11 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
(L)“An adversary shall surround the land
and bring down[a] your defenses from you,
and (M)your strongholds shall be plundered.”
12 Thus says the Lord: (N)“As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, (O)so shall the people of Israel (P)who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part[b] of a bed.
13 “Hear, (Q)and testify against the house of Jacob,”
declares the Lord God, (R)the God of hosts,
14 “that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions,
(S)I will punish the altars of Bethel,
and (T)the horns of the altar shall be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 (U)I will strike (V)the winter house along with (W)the summer house,
and (X)the houses of ivory shall perish,
and the great houses[c] shall come to an end,”
declares the Lord.
Footnotes
Cross references
- Amos 3:1 : ch. 7:16; [ch. 2:10]
- Amos 3:2 : Deut. 7:6; 10:15; Ps. 147:19, 20; [Hos. 5:3; 13:5; Mic. 2:3]
- Amos 3:2 : [Matt. 10:15; 11:21, 22; Luke 10:13, 14; 12:47; Rom. 2:9]
- Amos 3:6 : Ezek. 33:4; See Joel 2:1
- Amos 3:6 : [Isa. 45:7; Lam. 3:38; Mic. 1:12]
- Amos 3:7 : Gen. 18:17; [Jer. 15:1]
- Amos 3:8 : [Num. 22:38]
- Amos 3:9 : ch. 1:8
- Amos 3:9 : ch. 4:1; 6:1; [1 Kgs. 16:24]
- Amos 3:9 : Ps. 94:5, 6; 103:6; See 1 Kgs. 21:1-16
- Amos 3:10 : [ch. 6:3; Isa. 3:14, 15]; See Mic. 6:10-12
- Amos 3:11 : [2 Kgs. 17:5, 6]; See 2 Kgs. 18:9-12
- Amos 3:11 : [Isa. 39:6]
- Amos 3:12 : [Ex. 22:13]
- Amos 3:12 : See Jer. 31:8, 9
- Amos 3:12 : [ch. 6:4]
- Amos 3:13 : [Ps. 50:7; 81:8]
- Amos 3:13 : ch. 4:13; Ps. 80:4, 7, 14
- Amos 3:14 : [Hos. 10:15]; See 1 Kgs. 13:1-3
- Amos 3:14 : [2 Kgs. 23:15]
- Amos 3:15 : [ch. 6:11]
- Amos 3:15 : Jer. 36:22
- Amos 3:15 : Judg. 3:20
- Amos 3:15 : 1 Kgs. 22:39; Ps. 45:8
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. God will punish his chosen people (1-8)
Some things have a clear cause-effect relationship. Two people have a date because both agree to it; a bird is caught because a snare has been set. Disaster comes to a sinful city because the Lord sends it. God reveals his plan to his prophets. When the lion has roared who will not fear? God has spoken to his servant, so he must prophesy. God loves his people whom he chose of all the families of the earth, whom he redeemed from Egypt. He cares, so he will punish. Amos, God's servant, rebukes and warns them.
2. Samaria does not know how to do right (9-15)
The unrest in Samaria, capital of Israel, was caused by two things: Jeroboam I had made his own religion by putting a calf-idol in Bethel; this continued to poi- son the inner lives of the people (14). The wealthy people built expensive houses and enjoyed glamorous vacations--and oppressed the poor. Unless they repented, a powerful enemy would overrun them and leave only a small remnant, like an ear of an animal saved from the lion's mouth by a shepherd.
Prayer: Lord, teach my heart to fear you, so that I may not fear people; grant me a repentant heart.
One Word: The Lord's servant must speak