NETtext - Amos - 3

3:1  Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the LORD is proclaiming against you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up from the land of Egypt:

3:2  "I have chosen you alone from all the clans of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your sins."

3:3  Do two walk together without having met?

3:4  Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey? Does a young lion bellow from his den if he has not caught something?

3:5  Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait? Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something?

3:6  If an alarm sounds in a city, do people not fear? If disaster overtakes a city, is the LORD not responsible?

3:7  Certainly the sovereign LORD does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

3:8  A lion has roared! Who is not afraid? The sovereign LORD has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy?

3:9  Make this announcement in the fortresses of Ashdod and in the fortresses in the land of Egypt. Say this: "Gather on the hills around Samaria! Observe the many acts of violence taking place within the city, the oppressive deeds occurring in it."

3:10  "They do not know how to do what is right." (The LORD is speaking.) "They store up the spoils of destructive violence in their fortresses.

3:11  Therefore," says the sovereign LORD, "an enemy will encircle the land. He will take away your power; your fortresses will be looted."

3:12  This is what the LORD says: "Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion's mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged. They will be left with just a corner of a bed, and a part of a couch."

3:13  Listen and warn the family of Jacob! The sovereign LORD, the God who commands armies, is speaking!

3:14  "Certainly when I punish Israel for their covenant transgressions, I will destroy Bethel's altars. The horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.

3:15  I will destroy both the winter and summer houses. The houses filled with ivory will be ruined, the great houses will be swept away." The LORD is speaking!