Amos

¹ Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:

² “Only you have I known ^[a]

from all the families of the earth;

therefore I will punish you

for all your iniquities.”

³ Can two walk together

without agreeing where to go? ^[b]

⁴ Does a lion roar in the forest

when he has no prey?

Does a young lion growl in his den

if he has caught nothing?

⁵ Does a bird land in a snare

where no bait has been set?

Does a trap spring from the ground

when it has nothing to catch?

⁶ If a ram’s horn sounds in a city,

do the people not tremble?

If calamity comes to a city,

has not the LORD caused it?

⁷ Surely the Lord GOD does nothing

without revealing His plan

to His servants the prophets.

⁸ The lion has roared—

who will not fear?

The Lord GOD has spoken—

who will not prophesy?

⁹ Proclaim to the citadels of Ashdod

and to the citadels of Egypt:

“Assemble on the mountains of Samaria;

see the great unrest in the city

and the acts of oppression in her midst.”

¹⁰ “For they know not how to do right,”

declares the LORD.

“They store up violence and destruction

in their citadels.”

¹¹ Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says:

“An enemy ^[c] will surround the land;

he will pull down your strongholds

and plunder your citadels.”

¹² This is what the LORD says:

“As the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion

two legs or a piece of an ear,

so the Israelites dwelling in Samaria will be rescued

having just the corner of a bed

or the cushion of a couch. ^[d]

¹³ Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,

declares the Lord GOD, the God of Hosts.

¹⁴ On the day I punish Israel for their transgressions,

I will visit destruction on the altars of Bethel;

the horns of the altar will be cut off,

and they will fall to the ground.

¹⁵ I will tear down the winter house

along with the summer house;

the houses of ivory will also perish,

and the great houses will come to an end,”

declares the LORD.