Amos 3
1 Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,
2 You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?
5 Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?
6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done it?
7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
8 The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
9 Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof.
10 For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.
11 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled.
12 Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch.
13 Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord GOD, the God of hosts,
14 That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Beth-el: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.
15 And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the LORD.
World Behind This Chapter
Explore the people, places, language, history, and material world connected to Amos 3.
How do Amos’s paired questions work?
The opening sequence repeatedly links an observable result with an assumed cause. It is a rhetorical chain that prepares the claim that prophetic speech likewise has a cause.
Why are Ashdod and Egypt summoned to Samaria?
Foreign powers are rhetorically invited to witness disorder inside Samaria. The move reverses expectations by turning outsiders into observers of Israel’s elite society.
What did an “ivory house” look like?
Excavations at Samaria uncovered carved ivory fragments associated with elite furnishings. Amos’s luxury language belongs to a real eighth-century material world, though no excavated object can be assigned to a person named in the book.
Research PathsCurated links for exploring this chapter 3
Maps & Timeline1
- Places Named in Amos 3OpenBible.info
Interactive map locating Samaria, Ashdod, Egypt, and other geographical references in the chapter. It helps readers follow Amos’s invitation for foreign witnesses to assemble around Samaria and observe the violence and wealth stored within its fortified center.
Language & Literature1
- Amos 3 in Hebrew and EnglishMechon Mamre
Presents the Hebrew chapter beside an English translation. Useful for examining Amos’s chain of rhetorical questions, lion and trap imagery, the relationship between prophetic revelation and proclamation, the personification of palaces, and the fragmentary rescue of a sheep from a predator.
Artifacts & Manuscripts1
- The Ivory Carvings from SamariaUniversity of Bern
Illustrated archaeological research page on the large collection of carved ivory furniture decorations found near Samaria’s royal palace. Dating largely to the ninth and eighth centuries BCE, the ivories provide direct material context for Amos’s references to ivory houses and elite luxury in the northern capital.
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