| 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! |
Amos 3 - NET Bible [draft]
