Discovery BoxAmos 3:1-8 
Context3:1 Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against 1 you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up 2 from the land of Egypt: 3:2 “I have chosen 3 you alone from all the clans of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”
3:3 Do two walk together without having met? 4
3:4 Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey? 5
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 6 in a city, do people not fear? 7
If disaster overtakes a 8 city, is the Lord not responsible? 9
3:7 Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
3:8 A lion has roared! 10 Who is not afraid?
The sovereign Lord has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy? 11
1 tn Or “about.”
2 tn One might expect a third person verb form (“he brought up”), since the
3 tn Heb “You only have I known.” The Hebrew verb יָדַע (yada’) is used here in its covenantal sense of “recognize in a special way.”
4 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.
5 tn Heb “without having prey [or “food”].”
6 tn Heb “If the ram’s horn is blown.”
7 tn Or “tremble” (NASB, NIV, NCV); or “shake.”
8 tn Heb “is in”; NIV, NCV, NLT “comes to.”
9 tn Heb “has the
10 sn The roar of the lion is here a metaphor for impending judgment (see 1:2; cf. 3:4, 12). Verses 7-8 justify Amos’ prophetic ministry and message of warning and judgment. The people should expect a prophetic message prior to divine action.
11 sn Who can refuse to prophesy? When a message is revealed, the prophet must speak, and the news of impending judgment should cause people to fear.
