Amós 3

¹ Heare this worde that the Lord pronounceth against you, O children of Israel, euen against the whole familie which I brought vp fro the land of Egypt, saying,

² YouI have only chosen you to be mine among all other people, and yet you have forsaken me.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 beBy this the Prophet signifies that he speaks not of himself, but as God guides and moves him, which is called the agreement between God and his Prophets.agreed?

⁴ Will aWill God threaten by his Prophet, unless there is some great occasion?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 anything come without God's providence?Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin [is] for him? shall [one] take up aWill his threatenings be in vain?snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?

⁶ Will the Prophet's threaten God's judgments and the people not be afraid?Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall thereDoes any adversity come without God's appointment? (Isa_45:7)be evil in a city, and the LORD hath not done [it]?

⁷ Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but heGod does not deal with the Israelites as he does with other people: for he always warns them before of his plagues by his Prophets.revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

⁸ The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can butBecause the people always murmured against the Prophets, he shows that God's Spirit moved them to speak as they did.prophesy?

⁹ Publish in the palaces atHe calls the strangers, such as the Philistines and Egyptians, to be witness of God's judgments against the Israelites for their cruelty and oppression.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 robberyThe fruit of their cruelty and theft appears by their great riches, which they have in their houses.in their palaces.

¹¹ Therefore thus saith the Lord God, An aduersary shall come euen rounde about the countrey, and shall bring downe thy strength fro thee, and thy palaces shalbe spoyled.

¹² Thus saith the LORD; As the shepherd takethWhen the lion has satisfied his hunger, the shepherd finds a leg or a piece of an ear, to show that the sheep have been torn by his teeth.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 inWhere they thought to have had a sure stronghold, and to have been in safety.Damascus [in] a couch.

¹³ Heare, and testifie in the house of Iaakob, saith the Lord God, the God of hostes.

¹⁴ Surely in the day that I shal visit the transgressions of Israel vpon him, I wil also visite the altars of Beth-el, and the hornes of the altar shal be broken off, and fall to the ground.

¹⁵ And I wil smite the winter house with the sommer house, and the houses of yuorie shal perish, and the great houses shalbe consumed, sayth the Lord.