Amos 3 - 5

Yahweh Speaks Against Israel

Hear this word which Yahweh has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire family which He brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,
2

“You only have I known among all the families of the earth;

Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment?

Does a lion roar in the forest when it has no prey?

Does a young lion give forth its voice from its den unless it has captured something?

Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no bait in it?

Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all?

If a trumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble?

If a calamity happens in a city has not Yahweh done it?

Surely Lord Yahweh does nothing

Unless He reveals His secret counsel

To His slaves the prophets.

A lion has roared! Who will not fear?

Lord Yahweh has spoken! Who can but prophesy?

9 Make it heard on the citadels in Ashdod and on the citadels in the land of Egypt and say, “Gather yourselves on the mountains of Samaria and see the great confusions within her and the oppressions in her midst. 10 But they do not know how to do what is right,” declares Yahweh, “these who hoard up violence and devastation in their citadels.”
11 Therefore, thus says Lord Yahweh,

“An adversary, even one surrounding the land,

Will pull down your strength from you,

And your citadels will be plundered.”

12 Thus says Yahweh,

“Just as the shepherd delivers from the lion’s mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear,

So will the sons of Israel inhabiting Samaria be delivered—

With the corner of a bed and the cover of a couch!

Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”

Declares Lord Yahweh, the God of hosts.

“For on the day that I punish Israel’s transgressions,

I will also punish the altars of Bethel;

The horns of the altar will be cut in pieces,

And they will fall to the ground.

I will also strike the winter house together with the summer house;

The houses of ivory will also perish,

And the great houses will come to an end,”

Declares Yahweh.

Yet You Have Not Returned to Me

Hear this word, you cows of Bashan who are on the mountain of Samaria,

Who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,

Who say to their husbands, “Bring now, that we may drink!”

Lord Yahweh has sworn by His holiness that,

“Behold, the days are coming upon you,

And they will take you away with meat hooks,

And the last of you with fish hooks.

And you will go out through breaches in the walls,

Each one straight before her,

And you will be cast to Harmon,” declares Yahweh.

“Enter Bethel and transgress;

In Gilgal multiply transgression!

Bring your sacrifices every morning,

Your tithes every three days.

And offer a thank offering also from that which is leavened,

And call for freewill offerings; cause them to be heard about.

For so you love to do, you sons of Israel,”

Declares Lord Yahweh.

“But I gave you also cleanness of teeth in all your cities

And lack of bread in all your places,

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares Yahweh.

“And I also withheld the rain from you

While there were still three months until harvest.

Then I would send rain on one city,

And on another city I would not send rain;

One portion would be rained on,

While the portion not rained on would dry up.

So two or three cities would wander around to another city to drink water,

But would not be satisfied;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares Yahweh.

“I struck you with scorching wind and mildew;

And the gnawing locust was devouring

Your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees, and olive trees;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares Yahweh.

“I sent a pestilence among you after the manner of Egypt;

I killed your choice men by the sword along with your captured horses,

And I made the stench of your camp rise up even in your nostrils;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares Yahweh.

“I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,

And you were like a firebrand delivered from a blaze;

Yet you have not returned to Me,” declares Yahweh.

“Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;

Because I will do this to you,

Prepare to meet your God, O Israel.”

For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind

And declares to man what are His thoughts,

He who makes dawn into gloom

And treads on the high places of the earth,

Yahweh God of hosts is His name.

Seek Me That You May Live

Hear this word which I take up for you as a funeral lament, O house of Israel:

She has fallen; she will not rise again—

The virgin Israel.

She lies abandoned on her land;

There is none to raise her up.

3 For thus says Lord Yahweh,

“The city which goes forth one thousand strong

Will have one hundred left,

And the one which goes forth one hundred strong

Will have ten left to the house of Israel.”

4 For thus says Yahweh to the house of Israel,

“Seek Me that you may live.

But do not seek Bethel,

And do not come to Gilgal,

Nor cross over to Beersheba;

For Gilgal will certainly go into exile,

And Bethel will become evil.

Seek Yahweh that you may live,

Lest He come mightily like a fire, O house of Joseph,

And it will consume with none to quench it for Bethel,

For those who overturn justice into wormwood

And put righteousness down to the earth.”

He who made the Pleiades and Orion

And overturns the shadow of death into morning,

Who also darkens day into night,

Who calls for the waters of the sea

And pours them out on the surface of the earth,

Yahweh is His name.

It is He who flashes forth with devastation upon the strong

So that devastation comes upon the fortification.

They hate him who reproves in the gate,

And they abhor him who speaks with integrity.

Therefore because you impose heavy rent on the poor

And take a tribute of grain from them,

Though you have built houses of cut stone,

Yet you will not live in them;

You have planted desirable vineyards, yet you will not drink their wine.

For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are mighty,

You who distress the righteous and take bribes

And turn aside the needy in the gate.

Therefore at such a time the one with insight keeps silent, for it is an evil time.

Seek good and not evil, in order that you may live;

And thus may Yahweh God of hosts be with you,

Just as you have said!

Hate evil, love good,

And set justice at the gate!

Perhaps Yahweh God of hosts

May be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.

16 Therefore thus says Yahweh God of hosts, the Lord,

“There is wailing in all the plazas,

And in all the streets they say, ‘Alas! Alas!’

They also call the farmer to mourning

And professional weepers to wailing.

And in all the vineyards there is wailing

Because I will pass through the midst of you,” says Yahweh.

Woe, you who are longing for the day of Yahweh,

For what purpose will the day of Yahweh be to you?

It will be darkness and not light;

As when a man flees from a lion

And a bear meets him;

Or he goes home, leans his hand against the wall,

And a snake bites him.

Will not the day of Yahweh be darkness instead of light,

Even thick darkness with no brightness in it?

“I hate, I reject your feasts,

Nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies.

Even though you offer up to Me burnt offerings and your grain offerings,

I will not accept them;

And I will not even look at the peace offerings of your fatlings.

Remove from Me the tumult of your songs;

I will not even listen to the melody of your harps.

But let justice roll down like waters

And righteousness like an ever‑flowing stream.

25 “Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? 26 You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. 27 Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus,” says Yahweh, whose name is the God of hosts.