3:3. Shall two walk together except they be agreed?
3:4. Will a lion roar in the forest, if he have no prey? will the lion"s whelp cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?
3:5. Will the bird fall into the snare upon the earth, if there be no fowler? Shall the snare be taken up from the earth, before it hath taken somewhat?
3:6. Shall the trumpet sound in a city, and the people not be afraid?
Shall there be evil in a city, which the Lord hath not done?
Evil in a city... He speaks of the evil of punishments of war, famine, pestilence, desolation, etc., but not of the evil of sin, of which G.o.d is not the author.
3:7. For the Lord G.o.d doth nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.
3:8. The lion shall roar, who will not fear? The Lord G.o.d hath spoken, who shall not prophesy?
3:9. Publish it in the houses of Azotus, and in the houses of the land of Egypt, and say: a.s.semble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the many follies in the midst thereof, and them that suffer oppression in the inner rooms thereof.
3:10. And they have not known to do the right thing, saith the Lord, storing up iniquity, and robberies in their houses.
3:11. Therefore thus saith the Lord G.o.d: The land shall be in tribulation, and shall be compa.s.sed about: and thy strength shall be taken away from thee, and thy houses shall be spoiled.
3:12. Thus saith the Lord: As if a shepherd should get out of the lion"s mouth two legs, or the tip of the ear: so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria, in a place of a bed, and in the couch of Damascus.
3:13. Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord the G.o.d of hosts:
3:14. That in the day when I shall begin to visit the transgressions of Israel, I will visit upon him, and upon the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altars shall be cut off, and shall fall to the ground.
3:15. And I will strike the winter house with the summer house: and the houses of ivory shall perish, and many houses shall be destroyed, saith the Lord.
Amos Chapter 4
The Israelites are reproved for their oppressing the poor, for their idolatry, and their incorrigibleness.
4:1. Hear this word, ye fat kine that are in the mountains of Samaria: you that oppress the needy, and crush the poor: that say to your masters: Bring, and we will drink.
Fat kine... He means the great ones that lived in plenty and wealth.
4:2. The Lord G.o.d hath sworn by his holiness, that lo, the days shall come upon you, when they shall lift you up on pikes, and what shall remain of you in boiling pots.
4:3. And you shall go out at the breaches one over against the other, and you shall be cast forth into Armon, saith the Lord.
Armon... A foreign country; some understand it of Armenia.
4:4. Come ye to Bethel, and do wickedly: to Galgal, and multiply transgressions: and bring in the morning your victims, your t.i.thes in three days.
4:5. And offer a sacrifice of praise with leaven: and call free offerings, and proclaim it: for so you would do, O children of Israel, saith the Lord G.o.d.
4:6. Whereupon I also have given you dulness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet you have not returned to me, saith the Lord.
4:7. I also have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon on city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon: and the piece whereupon I rained not, withered.
4:8. And two and three cities went to one city to drink water, and were not filled: yet you returned not to me, saith the Lord.
4:9. I struck you with a burning wind, and with mildew, the palmerworm hath eaten up your many gardens, and your vineyards: your olive groves, and fig groves: yet you returned not to me, saith the Lord.
4:10. I sent death upon you in the way of Egypt, I slew your young men with the sword, even to the captivity of your horses: and I made the stench of your camp to come up into your nostrils: yet you returned not to me, saith the Lord.
4:11. I destroyed some of you, as G.o.d destroyed Sodom and Gomorrha, and you were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet you returned not to me, saith the Lord.
4:12. Therefore I will do these things to thee, O Israel: and after I shall have done these things to thee, be prepared to meet thy G.o.d, O Israel.
4:13. For behold he that formeth the mountains and createth the wind, and declareth his word to man, he that maketh the morning mist, and walketh upon the high places of the earth: the Lord the G.o.d of hosts is his name.
Amos Chapter 5
A lamentation for Israel: an exhortation to return to G.o.d.
5:1. Hear ye this word, which I take up concerning you for a lamentation. The house of Israel is fallen, and it shall rise no more.
5:2. The virgin of Israel is cast down upon her land, there is none to raise her up.
5:3. For thus saith the Lord G.o.d: The city, out of which came forth a thousand, there shall be left in it a hundred: and out of which there came a hundred, there shall be left in it ten, in the house of Israel.
5:4. For thus saith the Lord to the house of Israel: Seek ye me, and you shall live.
5:5. But seek not Bethel, and go not into Galgal, neither shall you pa.s.s over to Bersabee: for Galgal shall go into captivity, and Bethel shall be unprofitable.
Bethel,-Galgal,-Bersabee... The places where they worshipped their idols.
5:6. Seek ye the Lord, and live: lest the house of Joseph be burnt with fire, and it shall devour, and there shall be none to quench Bethel.
5:7. You that turn judgment into wormwood, and forsake justice in the land,
5:8. Seek him that maketh Arcturus, and Orion, and that turneth darkness into morning, and that changeth day into night: that calleth the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.
Arcturus and Orion... Arcturus is a bright star in the north: Orion a beautiful constellation in the south.
5:9. He that with a smile bringeth destruction upon the strong, and waste upon the mighty.
With a smile... That is, with all ease, and without making any effort.
5:10. They have hated him that rebuketh in the gate: and have abhorred him that speaketh perfectly.
5:11. Therefore because you robbed the poor, and took the choice prey from him: you shall build houses with square stone, and shall not dwell in them: you shall plant most delightful vineyards, and shall not drink the wine of them.
5:12. Because I know your manifold crimes, and your grievous sins: enemies of the just, taking bribes, and oppressing the poor in the gate.
5:13. Therefore the prudent shall keep silence at that time, for it is an evil time.