Amplified Bible
Amos 3:2
2“I have known [chosen, cared for, and loved] only you of all the families of the earth; Therefore I shall punish you for all your wickedness.”
Amos 3:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
- New International Version (NIV)“You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your sins.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)"You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“You only have I known of all the families of the earth; Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
Context of Amos 3:2
1Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt: “I have known [chosen, cared for, and loved] only you of all the families of the earth; Therefore I shall punish you for all your wickedness.” 3Do two men walk together unless they have made an appointment? 4Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl from his den if he has not captured something?
Read all of Amos 3Amos 3:2 word by word
רַ֚ק אֶתְכֶ֣ם יָדַ֔עְתִּי מִכֹּ֖ל מִשְׁפְּח֣וֹת הָאֲדָמָ֑ה עַל־כֵּן֙ אֶפְקֹ֣ד עֲלֵיכֶ֔ם אֵ֖ת כָּל־עֲוֹנֹֽתֵיכֶֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Amos 3:2
- Exodus 19:5Now therefore, if you will in fact obey My voice and keep My covenant (agreement), then you shall be My own special possession and treasure from among all peoples [of the world], for all the earth is Mine;
- Deuteronomy 7:6For you are a holy people [set apart] to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be a people for His own possession [that is, His very special treasure].
- Deuteronomy 10:15Yet the Lord had a delight in loving your fathers and set His affection on them, and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as it is this day.
- Deuteronomy 26:18Today the Lord has declared that you are His people, His treasured possession, just as He promised you, and that you are to keep all His commandments;
- Deuteronomy 32:9For the Lord’s portion and chosen share is His people; Jacob (Israel) is the allotment of His inheritance.
- Psalms 147:19He declares His word to Jacob, His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.
- Isaiah 63:19We have become like those over whom You have never ruled, Like those who were not called by Your name.
- Genesis 10:32These are the families of the sons of Noah, according to their descendants, by their nations; and from these [people] the nations were separated and spread abroad on the earth after the flood.
- Jeremiah 1:15For, behold, I will call all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north,” says the Lord; “and they will come and each one will set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, and against all its surrounding walls, and against all the cities of Judah [as My judicial act, the consequence of Judah’s deliberate disobedience].
- Jeremiah 10:25Pour out Your wrath on the nations that do not know nor recognize You And on the families that do not call Your name. For they have devoured Jacob; They have devoured him and consumed him And made his land a desolate waste.
- Nahum 3:4All because of the many acts of prostitution of [Nineveh] the prostitute, The charming and well-favored one, the mistress of sorceries, Who betrays nations by her acts of prostitution (idolatry) And families by her sorceries.
- Zechariah 14:17And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, there will be no rain on them.
- Acts 17:26And He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their lands and territories.
- Ezekiel 9:6Utterly slay old men, young men, maidens, little children, and women; but do not touch or go near anyone on whom is the mark. Begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the old men who were in front of the temple [who did not have the Lord’s mark on their foreheads].
- Ezekiel 20:36As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment and contend with you,” says the Lord God.
- Daniel 9:12And He has carried out completely His [threatening] words which He had spoken against us and against our rulers [the kings, princes, and judges] who ruled us, to bring on us a great tragedy; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything [so dreadful] like that which [He commanded and] was done to Jerusalem.
Commentaries on Amos 3:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2You only have I known - I have taken no other people to be my own people. I have approved of you, loved you, fed, sustained, and defended you; but because you have forsaken me, have become idolatrous and polluted, therefore will I punish you. And the punishment shall be in proportion to the privileges you have enjoyed, and the grace you have abused.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities - Such is the one law of God. The nearer anyone is brought unto God, the worse is his fall, and, his trial over, the more heavily is he punished. Nearness to God is a priceless, but an awesome gift. The most intense blessing becomes, by the abuse of free will, the most dreadful woe. For the nearer God places anyone to His own light, the more…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2The word translated as have known suggests a deep, personal understanding that goes beyond just knowing facts. It can mean formal recognition (Exodus 1:8; 5:2), personal experience (Genesis 2:17), or sexual relations (Genesis 4:1). This word often describes God's relationship with Israel (Hosea 5:3) and the ideal relationship Israel should have with God (Hosea 2:20). Because of Israel's special status, God would hold them accountable for all their sins…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. You only have I known--that is, acknowledged as My people, and treated with peculiar favor (Ex 19:5; De 4:20). Compare the use of "know," Psa 1:6; 144:3; Joh 10:14; 2Ti 2:19. therefore I will punish--the greater the privileges, the heavier the punishment for the abuse of them; for to the other offenses there is added, in this case, ingratitude. When God's people do not glorify Him, He glorifies Himself by punishing them.Read the comment
Topics related to Amos 3:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Amos 3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
Amplified Bible — © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631
Commentaries