Amos 3:3-6

Context3:3 Do two walk together without having met? 1
3:4 Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey? 2
Does a young lion bellow from his den if he has not caught something?
3:5 Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait?
Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something?
3:6 If an alarm sounds 3 in a city, do people not fear? 4
If disaster overtakes a 5 city, is the Lord not responsible? 6
Amos 9:7
Context9:7 “You Israelites are just like the Ethiopians in my sight,” 7 says the Lord.
“Certainly I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt,
but I also brought the Philistines from Caphtor 8 and the Arameans from Kir. 9
1 sn The rhetorical questions in vv. 3-5 expect the answer, “No, of course not!” Those in v. 6 anticipate the answer, “Yes, of course they do/he is.” They all draw attention to the principle of cause and effect and lay the logical foundation for the argument in vv. 7-8. Also note the progression from a general question in v. 3 to the “meetings” of two animals (v. 4), to that of an animal and a human trap (v. 5), to a climax with the confrontation with the Lord (v. 6). Each of these meetings is disastrous.
2 tn Heb “without having prey [or “food”].”
3 tn Heb “If the ram’s horn is blown.”
4 tn Or “tremble” (NASB, NIV, NCV); or “shake.”
5 tn Heb “is in”; NIV, NCV, NLT “comes to.”
6 tn Heb “has the
7 tn The Hebrew text has a rhetorical question, “Are you children of Israel not like the Cushites to me?” The rhetorical question has been converted to an affirmative statement in the translation for clarity. See the comment at 8:8.
sn Though Israel was God’s special covenant people (see 3:2a), the Lord emphasizes they are not inherently superior to the other nations subject to his sovereign rule.
8 sn Caphtor may refer to the island of Crete.
9 tn The second half of v. 7 is also phrased as a rhetorical question in the Hebrew text, “Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir?” The translation converts the rhetorical question into an affirmation for clarity.