Disaster will be inescapable, as if a man ran from a lion only to meet a bear, then escaped into a house, leaned his hand against the wall, and was bitten by a poisonous snake.

This is what the Lord says: “Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion’s mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged. They will be left with just a corner of a bed, and a part of a couch.”

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?

Amos replied to Amaziah, “I was not a prophet by profession. No, I was a herdsman who also took care of sycamore fig trees.

The sovereign Lord says this: “The city that marches out with a thousand soldiers will have only a hundred left; the town that marches out with a hundred soldiers will have only ten left for the family of Israel.”

If an alarm sounds in a city, do people not fear? If disaster overtakes a city, is the Lord not responsible?

Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey? Does a young lion bellow from his den if he has not caught something?

The sovereign Lord showed me this: I saw a basket of summer fruit.

You refuse to believe a day of disaster will come, but you establish a reign of violence.

He showed me this: I saw the sovereign One standing by a tin wall holding tin in his hand.

“For look, I am giving a command and I will shake the family of Israel together with all the nations. It will resemble a sieve being shaken, when not even a pebble falls to the ground.

Look! I will press you down, like a cart loaded down with grain presses down.

Be certain of this, the time is coming,” says the sovereign Lord, “when I will send a famine through the land – not a shortage of food or water but an end to divine revelation!

Justice must flow like torrents of water, righteous actions like a stream that never dries up.

Don’t prophesy at Bethel any longer, for a royal temple and palace are here!”

Burn a thank offering of bread made with yeast! Make a public display of your voluntary offerings! For you love to do this, you Israelites.” The sovereign Lord is speaking!

For this reason whoever is smart keeps quiet in such a time, for it is an evil time.

We’re eager to trade silver for the poor, a pair of sandals for the needy! We want to mix in some chaff with the grain!”

This is what the Lord says: “Because Tyre has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold a whole community to Edom; they failed to observe a treaty of brotherhood.

A lion has roared! Who is not afraid? The sovereign Lord has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy?