Discovery BoxAmos 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
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
