Amos 3:1

Every Effect has its Cause

3:1 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:

Amos 4:1

4:1 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan ³  who live on Mount Samaria!

You ⁴  oppress the poor;

you crush the needy.

You say to your ⁵  husbands,

“Bring us more to drink!” ⁶ 

¹ tn Or “about.”

² tn One might expect a third person verb form (“he brought up”), since the Lord apparently refers to himself in the third person in the preceding sentence. This first person form, however, serves to connect this message to the earlier indictment (2:10) and anticipates the words of the following verse.

³ sn The expression cows of Bashan is used by the prophet to address the wealthy women of Samaria, who demand that their husbands satisfy their cravings. The derogatory language perhaps suggests that they, like the livestock of Bashan, were well fed, ironically in preparation for the coming slaughter. This phrase is sometimes cited to critique the book’s view of women.

⁴ tn Heb “the ones who” (three times in this verse).

⁵ tn Heb “their.”

⁶ sn Some commentators relate this scene to the description of the marzeah feast of 6:3-6, in which drinking played a prominent part (see the note at 6:6).