Amos 3

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¹Listen 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.” ✦ ³Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction? ✦ ⁴Does 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? ✦ ⁵Does a bird ever get caught in a trap that has no bait? Does a trap spring shut when there’s nothing to catch? ✦ ⁶When 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? ✦ ⁷Indeed, the Sovereign Lord never does anything until he reveals his plans to his servants the prophets. ✦ ⁸The lion has roared— so who isn’t frightened? The Sovereign Lord has spoken— so who can refuse to proclaim his message? ✦ ⁹Announce 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.” ✦ ¹⁰“My people have forgotten how to do right,” says the Lord. “Their fortresses are filled with wealth taken by theft and violence. ✦ ¹¹Therefore,” says the Sovereign Lord, “an enemy is coming! He will surround them and shatter their defenses. Then he will plunder all their fortresses.” ✦ ¹²This 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. So it will be for the Israelites in Samaria lying on luxurious beds, and for the people of Damascus reclining on couches. ✦ ¹³“Now listen to this, and announce it throughout all Israel,” says the Lord, the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies. ✦ ¹⁴“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. ✦ ¹⁵And 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. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

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.

Where this chapter connects

Amos 6 ·6 Amos 3 ·5 Jer 31 ·4 2 Kgs 17 ·3 Hos 5 ·3 Amos 5 ·3 Amos 1 ·3 Dan 9 ·3

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 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.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.

Pastoral

SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Amos videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Amos 3YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Amos 3David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on AmosMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Amos 3Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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