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.
Parallel translations
- WEB Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: “An adversary will overrun the land; and he will pull down your strongholds, and your fortresses will be plundered.”
- BSB Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “An enemy will surround the land; he will pull down your strongholds and plunder your citadels.”
- NKJV Therefore thus says the Lord God: “An adversary shall be all around the land; He shall sap your strength from you, And your palaces shall be plundered.”
- NASB Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “An enemy, one surrounding the land, Will take down your fortifications from you, And your citadels will be looted.”
- NLT Therefore,” says the Sovereign Lord, “an enemy is coming! He will surround them and shatter their defenses. Then he will plunder all their fortresses.”
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Therefore an enemy will surround the land, tear down its strongholds, and plunder its fortresses. The wealth gained by oppression will be lost to invaders.
Overview
Because of their hoarded plunder, God will send an adversary, the Assyrians, to overrun Samaria and seize its riches. The 'strongholds' and 'fortresses' that gave false security will be pulled down. What was taken by violence will be taken away by violence. This was fulfilled in 722 BC, confirming the certainty of God's word.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- 2 Kgs 18:9–11And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son of Elah king of Israel, that Shalmaneser king of Assyria came up against Samaria, and besieged it.
- 2 Kgs 17:3–6Against him came up Shalmaneser king of Assyria; and Hoshea became his servant, and gave him presents.
- Amos 6:14But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the LORD the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.
- 2 Kgs 15:19And Pul the king of Assyria came against the land: and Menahem gave Pul a thousand talents of silver, that his hand might be with him to confirm the kingdom in his hand.
- Amos 2:5But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
- Isa 10:9–11Is not Calno as Carchemish? is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?
- Hos 11:5–6He shall not return into the land of Egypt, but the Assyrian shall be his king, because they refused to return.
- Isa 8:7–8Now therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory: and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his banks:
- Amos 6:8The Lord GOD hath sworn by himself, saith the LORD the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.
- Amos 3:15And 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.
- Isa 10:5–6O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.
- 2 Chr 36:19And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof.
- Amos 3:10For they know not to do right, saith the LORD, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.
- 2 Kgs 15:29In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abelbethmaachah, and Janoah, and Kedesh, and Hazor, and Gilead, and Galilee, all the land of Naphtali, and carried them captive to Assyria.
- Isa 7:17–25The LORD shall bring upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy father’s house, days that have not come, from the day that Ephraim departed from Judah; even the king of Assyria.
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Christ at the center
Amid judgment on injustice, Amos promises the raising up of David's fallen tent — read by James in Acts 15 as the ingathering of the nations into the kingdom of the risen Christ.
How Amos 3:11 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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