HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1175
AM OS 4
page 805
3
So it will be for the Israelites in Samaria
lying on luxurious beds,
and for the people of Damascus reclining
on couches.*
Listen to this message that the Lord has
spoken against you, O people of Israel—
against the entire family I rescued from Egypt:
2
“From among all the families on the earth,
I have been intimate with you alone.
That is why I must punish you
for all your sins.”
Witnesses against Guilty Israel
3 Can two people walk together
without agreeing on the direction?
4 Does a lion ever roar in a thicket
without first finding a victim?
Does a young lion growl in its den
without first catching its prey?
5 Does a bird ever get caught in a trap
that has no bait?
Does a trap spring shut
when there’s nothing to catch?
6 When the ram’s horn blows a warning,
shouldn’t the people be alarmed?
Does disaster come to a city
unless the Lord has planned it?
7
Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does
anything
until he reveals his plans to his servants
the prophets.
8
The lion has roared—
so who isn’t frightened?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
so who can refuse to proclaim his
message?
Announce this to the leaders of Philistia*
and to the great ones of Egypt:
“Take your seats now on the hills around
Samaria,
and witness the chaos and oppression
in Israel.”
9
10
11
“My people have forgotten how to
do right,”
says the Lord.
“Their fortresses are filled with wealth
taken by theft and violence.
Therefore,” says the Sovereign Lord,
“an enemy is coming!
He will surround them and shatter their
defenses.
Then he will plunder all their fortresses.”
12 This
is what the Lord says:
“A shepherd who tries to rescue a sheep
from a lion’s mouth
will recover only two legs or a piece of
an ear.
3:9 Hebrew Ashdod. 3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew in this
sentence is uncertain. 3:13 Hebrew the house of Jacob. The
names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout
the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual
patriarch and sometimes to the nation. 4:1 Hebrew you cows
of Bashan. 4:3 Or thrown out toward Harmon, possibly a
reference to Mount Hermon.
13 “Now listen to this, and announce it
throughout all Israel,*” says the Lord, the Lord
God of Heaven’s Armies.
14
15
“On the very day I punish Israel for its sins,
I will destroy the pagan altars at Bethel.
The horns of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
And I will destroy the beautiful homes of
the wealthy—
their winter mansions and their summer
houses, too—
all their palaces filled with ivory,”
says the Lord.
Israel’s Failure to Learn
1 Listen to me, you fat cows*
living in Samaria,
you women who oppress the poor
and crush the needy,
and who are always calling to your
husbands,
“Bring us another drink!”
2 The Sovereign Lord has sworn this by his
holiness:
“The time will come when you will be led
away
with hooks in your noses.
Every last one of you will be dragged away
like a fish on a hook!
3 You will be led out through the ruins of
the wall;
you will be thrown from your fortresses,*”
says the Lord.
4
4
5
“Go ahead and offer sacrifices to the idols
at Bethel.
Keep on disobeying at Gilgal.
Offer sacrifices each morning,
and bring your tithes every three days.
Present your bread made with yeast
as an offering of thanksgiving.
Then give your extra voluntary offerings
so you can brag about it everywhere!
This is the kind of thing you Israelites love
to do,”
says the Sovereign Lord.
6
“I brought hunger to every city
and famine to every town.
But still you would not return to me,”
says the Lord.
7
“I kept the rain from falling
when your crops needed it the most.
I sent rain on one town
but withheld it from another.
Rain fell on one field,
while another field withered away.