Amos

CHAPTER 3

First Summons

concerning the whole family I brought up from the land of Egypt:

among all the families of the earth;^a

Therefore I will punish you

for all your iniquities.

unless they have agreed?

when it has no prey?

Does a young lion cry out from its den

unless it has seized something?

when there is no lure for it?

Does a snare spring up from the ground

without catching anything?

without the people becoming frightened?

Does disaster befall a city

unless the LORD has caused it?^b

who would not fear?^c

The Lord GOD has spoken,

who would not prophesy?

in the strongholds of the land of Egypt:

“Gather on the mount of Samaria,

and see the great disorders within it,

the oppressions within its midst.”^*

oracle of the LORD—

Storing up in their strongholds

violence and destruction.

An enemy shall surround the land,

tear down your fortresses,

and pillage your strongholds.

As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion

a pair of sheep’s legs or the tip of an ear,

So shall the Israelites escape,

those who dwell in Samaria,

With the corner of a couch

or a piece of a cot.^*

an oracle of the Lord GOD, the God of hosts:

I will also punish the altars of Bethel;

The horns of the altar shall be broken off

and fall to the ground.^{* d}

and the summer house;

The houses of ivory shall lie in ruin,

and their many rooms shall be no more—

oracle of the LORD.

* [3:2] You alone I have known: precisely because Israel enjoyed a special status among the nations of the world in the eyes of the Lord (but see 9:7) it was called to a high degree of fidelity to God. Because Israel has failed in this expectation, it must experience God’s punishment.

* [3:3–8] The metaphors in these sayings illustrate the principle of cause and effect, and lead up to the conclusion in v. 8.

* [3:9] Assyria: following the Greek version, the Hebrew text has “Ashod.” It is supposed that this was a copyist’s error: “Assyria” seems intended, in order to parallel “Egypt” in the next line.

* [3:9] With a keen sense of irony, Amos invites the most powerful oppressors in Israel’s memory, past and present—Egypt and Assyria—to see and marvel at the great oppression and injustice being wrought within Samaria by the people of Israel.

* [3:12] The “escape” is clearly a disaster, not a deliverance.

* [3:14] On Bethel, see also 4:4; 5:5–6; and 7:13. The prophet is condemning the religiosity and formalism of the worship by Israel’s leaders.

a. [3:2] Gn 18:19; Dt 7:6.

b. [3:6] Jl 2:1.

c. [3:8] Am 1:2.

d. [3:14] Am 9:1; 1 Kgs 13:1–5.