עמוס ג׳Amos 3

Hear this word, O people of Israel,
That GOD has spoken concerning you,
Concerning the whole family that I brought up from the land of Egypt:

You alone have I singled out
Of all the families of the earth—
That is why I will call you to account
For all your iniquities.

Can two walk together
Without having met?

Does a lion roar in the forest
When it has no prey?
Does a great beast let out a cry from its den
Without having made a capture?

Does a bird drop on the ground—in a trap—
With no snare there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
Unless it has caught something?

When a ram’s horn is sounded in a town,
Do the people not take alarm?
Can misfortune come to a town
If GOD has not caused it?

Indeed, my Sovereign GOD does nothing
Without having revealed the purpose
To God’s servants the prophets.

A lion has roared,
Who can but fear?
My Sovereign GOD has spoken,
Who can but prophesy?

Proclaim in the fortresses of Ashdod
And in the fortresses of the land of Egypt!
Say:
Gather on the hill of Samaria
And witness the great outrages within her
And the oppression in her midst.

They are incapable of doing right
—declares GOD;
They store up lawlessness and rapine
In their fortresses.

Assuredly,
Thus said the Sovereign GOD:
An enemy, all about the land!
He shall strip you of your splendor,
And your fortresses shall be plundered.

Thus said GOD:
As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s jaws
Two shank bones or the tip of an ear,
So shall the Israelites escape
Who dwell in Samaria—
With the leg of a bed or the head of a couch.

Hear [this], and warn the House of Jacob
—says the Sovereign GOD, the God of Hosts—

That when I punish Israel for its transgressions,
I will wreak judgment on the altar of Bethel,
And the horns of the altar shall be cut off
And shall fall to the ground.

I will wreck the winter palace
Together with the summer palace;
The ivory palaces shall be demolished,
And the great houses shall be destroyed
—declares GOD.