1 People of Israel, listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you—all of you, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt. 2 I chose a special relationship with you alone out of all the families of the earth, and so I will punish you for your wrongdoing. 3 Can two people walk together unless they have arranged to meet? 4 Does a lion roar in the forest before finding its prey? Does a young lion growl from its den if it has caught nothing? 5 Does a bird fall into a trap and get caught unless the spring is set? Does a trap spring shut if there's nothing there to catch? 6 When the trumpet sounds in the city, shouldn't the people be alarmed? When a disaster comes to a city, isn't it the Lord who does it? 7 For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his intentions to his servants the prophets. 8 The lion has roared—so who isn't scared? The Lord God has spoken—so who can refuse to speak for him? 9 Announce this to the fortresses of Ashdod and to the fortresses in the land of Egypt: Assemble yourselves on Samaria's mountains and see all the turmoil and oppression happening in the country. 10 They don't know how to do what is right, declares the Lord. They have stored up in their fortresses what they've taken by violence and robbery. 11 As a result, says the Lord, an enemy will surround you, break down your strongholds, and plunder your fortresses. 12 This is what the Lord says: Just as a shepherd tries to rescue a sheep from a lion's mouth, but only saves a couple of legs or a piece of an ear, so it will be for the people of Israel living in Samaria—all that will be “saved” will be the corner of a couch and a piece of a leg from a bed. 13 Listen! Warn the house of Jacob, declares the Lord God of power. 14 For on that day I will punish Israel for their sins. I will destroy the altars of Bethel: the corners of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground. 15 I will tear down their winter houses and their summer houses as well, their houses filled with ivory will be ruined—their many houses will be destroyed.
Amos 3 Free Bible Version
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Cross references (15)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Amos 2:10; Micah 3:1; Jeremiah 8:3; Jeremiah 31:1; Hosea 4:1
- 2 Deuteronomy 7:6; Exodus 19:5–6; Deuteronomy 10:15; 1 Peter 4:17; Zechariah 14:17–18
- 3 2 Corinthians 6:14–16; Genesis 17:1; Genesis 5:22; Genesis 6:9
- 4 Hosea 11:10; Psalm 104:21; Amos 1:2; Hosea 5:14; Amos 3:8
- 5 Ecclesiastes 9:12; Jeremiah 31:28; Daniel 9:14
- 6 Isaiah 45:7; Zephaniah 1:16; Isaiah 14:24–27; 2 Corinthians 5:11; Genesis 50:20
- 7 John 15:15; Genesis 18:17; Psalm 25:14; Revelation 1:1; Daniel 9:22–27
- 8 Jeremiah 20:9; Amos 3:4; Acts 4:20; Amos 1:2; Amos 2:12
- 9 Amos 4:1; Amos 6:1; Amos 1:8; 1 Samuel 5:1; Amos 8:6
- 10 Zephaniah 1:9; Jeremiah 4:22; Psalm 14:4; Zechariah 5:3–4; Habakkuk 2:8–11
- 11 2 Kings 18:9–11; Amos 6:14; Amos 2:5; 2 Kings 17:3–6; 2 Kings 15:19
- 12 1 Samuel 17:34–37; Romans 11:4–5; Isaiah 31:4; Amos 9:2–3; 2 Kings 16:9
- 13 Ephesians 4:17; Acts 20:21; Isaiah 1:24; Amos 5:27; Acts 2:40
- 14 2 Kings 23:15; Hosea 10:5–8; Hosea 10:14–15; 2 Chronicles 34:6–7; Amos 5:5–6
- 15 1 Kings 22:39; Jeremiah 36:22; Amos 6:11; Judges 3:20; Isaiah 5:9
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
But now at all events mark the beasts which are unquestionably of savage kind. "The lion roareth, who doth not fear?" And yet wherein is it that thou dost find thyself to be stronger than he?
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 6 (1888)
Nay, even when He says that God creates evil things, and that there is no evil in a city that the Lord hath not done, he does not mean by these words that the Lord is the cause of evil, but the word evil ' is used in two ways, with two meanings.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 2, vol. 9 (1899)