Amos 3:12

Amos 3:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Thus saith the Lord; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch.
• New International Version (NIV)This is what the Lord says: “As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s mouth only two leg bones or a piece of an ear, so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued, with only the head of a bed and a piece of fabric from a couch.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)Thus says the Lord: "As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Thus says the Lord: “As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lion Two legs or a piece of an ear, So shall the children of Israel be taken out Who dwell in Samaria— In the corner of a bed and on the edge of a couch!

Context of Amos 3:12

10The people are incapable of doing right — this is the Lord’s declaration — those who store up violence and destruction in their citadels. 11Therefore, the Lord God says: An enemy will surround the land; he will destroy your strongholds and plunder your citadels. The Lord says: As the shepherd snatches two legs or a piece of an ear from the lion’s mouth, so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be rescued with only the corner of a bed or the cushion of a couch. 13Listen and testify against the house of Jacob — this is the declaration of the Lord God, the God of Armies. 14I will punish the altars of Bethel on the day I punish Israel for its crimes; the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.

Amos 3:12 word by word

כֹּה֮ אָמַ֣ר יְהוָה֒ כַּאֲשֶׁר֩ יַצִּ֨יל הָרֹעֶ֜ה מִפִּ֧י הָאֲרִ֛י שְׁתֵּ֥י כְרָעַ֖יִם א֣וֹ בְדַל־אֹ֑זֶן כֵּ֣ן יִנָּצְל֞וּ בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל הַיֹּֽשְׁבִים֙ בְּשֹׁ֣מְר֔וֹן בִּפְאַ֥ת מִטָּ֖ה וּבִדְמֶ֥שֶׁק עָֽרֶשׂ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Thus saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• As the shepherdרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
• taketh outנָצַלnâtsal · to rescueH5337
• of the mouthפֶּהpeh · lipH6310
• of the lionאֲרִי'ărîy 'aryêh · lionH738
• twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
• legsכֶּ֫רַעkârâ‛ · legH3767
• or a pieceבָּדָלbâdâl · pieceH915
• of an earאֹ֫זֶן'ôzen · earH241
• so shall the childrenבֵּןbên · son: descendant/peopleH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• that dwellיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• in Samariaשֹׁמְרוֹןshômerôn · SamariaH8111
• in the cornerפֵּאָהpê'âh · sideH6285
• of a bedמִטָּהmiţţâh · bedH4296
• and in Damascusדְּמֶשֶׁקdemesheq · silkH1833
• a couchעֶ֫רֶשׂ‛ereώ · bedH6210

Cross-references for Amos 3:12

• 1 Samuel 17:34David answered Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock,
• Isaiah 31:4For this is what the Lord said to me: As a lion or young lion growls over its prey when a band of shepherds is called out against it, and it is not terrified by their shouting or subdued by their noise, so the Lord of Armies will come down to fight on Mount Zion and on its hill.
• Amos 9:2If they dig down to Sheol, from there my hand will take them; if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down.
• 1 Kings 20:30The ones who remained fled into the city of Aphek, and the wall fell on those twenty-seven thousand remaining men. Ben-hadad also fled and went into an inner room in the city.
• 1 Kings 22:25Micaiah replied, “You will soon see when you go to hide in an inner chamber on that day.”
• Isaiah 8:4for before the boy knows how to call ‘Father,’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the spoils of Samaria will be carried off to the king of Assyria.”
• Isaiah 17:1A pronouncement concerning Damascus: Look, Damascus is no longer a city. It has become a ruined heap.
• Romans 11:4But what was God’s answer to him? I have left seven thousand for myself who have not bowed down to Baal.
• 1 Kings 20:34Then Ben-hadad said to him, “I restore to you the cities that my father took from your father, and you may set up marketplaces for yourself in Damascus, like my father set up in Samaria.” Ahab responded, “On the basis of this treaty, I release you.” So he made a treaty with him and released him.
• 2 Kings 16:9So the king of Assyria listened to him and marched up to Damascus and captured it. He deported its people to Kir but put Rezin to death.

Commentaries on Amos 3:12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 12As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion - Scarcely any of you shall escape; and those that do shall do so with extreme difficulty, just as a shepherd, of a whole sheep carried away by a lion, can recover no more than two of its legs, or a piece of its ear, just enough to prove by the marks on those parts, that they belonged to a sheep which was his own. So shall the children of Israel be taken out - Those of them that escape these judgments…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12As the shepherd taketh - (Rather, rescueth) out of the mouth of the lion two legs (Properly, the shank, the lower part of the leg below the knee, which in animals is dry, and bone only and worthless) “or apiece” (the tip) “of an ear, so” (that is, so few and weak, so bared and spoiled, a mere remnant,) “shall the children of Israel be taken out” (rather, “rescued”) “that” now “dwell” at ease “in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus”, in “a…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-15Verses 9-15 That power which is an instrument of unrighteousness, will justly be brought down and broken. What is got and kept wrongfully, will not be kept long. Some are at ease, but there will come a day of visitation, and in that day, all they are proud of, and put confidence in, shall fail them. God will inquire into the sins of which they have been guilty in their houses, the robbery they have stored up, and the luxury in which they lived. The pomp…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12As the shepherd snatches: The people of both Israel and Judah believed that, because they were chosen, God would save them and never let them die. The prophet’s words are ironic. Their rescue would be like a shepherd arriving too late to save the sheep, only able to pull two legs or a piece of an ear from the lion's mouth. just the corner of a bed or the cushion of a couch: This points to how little would remain after the Assyrian attack on Samaria. It…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1212. shepherd--a pastoral image, appropriately used by Amos, a shepherd himself. piece of ... ear--brought by the shepherd to the owner of the sheep, so as not to have to pay for the loss (Ge 31:39; Ex 22:13). So if aught of Israel escapes, it shall be a miracle of God's goodness. It shall be but a scanty remnant. There is a kind of goat in the East the ears of which are a foot long, and proportionally broad. Perhaps the reference is to this. Compare on…Read the comment

Topics related to Amos 3:12

• Damascus
• Shepherd

In the dictionaries

• Damascus
• Israel
• Samaria
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Samaria, Samaritan
• Children of Israel
• Agreed
• Bed
• Bedstead

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