עמוס גAmos 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 outOf all the families of the earth—That is why I will call you to accountFor all your iniquities.

Can two walk togetherWithout having met?

Does a lion roar in the forestWhen it has no prey?Does a great beast let out a cry from its denWithout 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 groundUnless 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 townIf GOD has not caused it?

Indeed, my Sovereign GOD does nothingWithout having revealed the purposeTo 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 SamariaAnd witness the great outrages within herAnd the oppression in her midst.

They are incapable of doing right—declares GOD;They store up lawlessness and rapineIn 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 jawsTwo shank bones or the tip of an ear, So shall the Israelites escapeWho 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 offAnd shall fall to the ground.

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