English Standard Version
Amos 3:2
2"You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
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.”
- 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.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)“From among all the families on the earth, I have been intimate with you alone. That is why I must punish you for all your sins.”
Context of Amos 3:2
1Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: "You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. 3"Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? 4Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing?
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 indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine;
- Deuteronomy 7:6"For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.
- Deuteronomy 10:15Yet the Lord set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day.
- Deuteronomy 26:18And the Lord has declared today that you are a people for his treasured possession, as he has promised you, and that you are to keep all his commandments,
- Deuteronomy 32:9But the Lord's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.
- Psalms 147:19He declares his word to Jacob, his statutes and rules to Israel.
- Isaiah 63:19We have become like those over whom you have never ruled, like those who are not called by your name.
- Genesis 10:32These are the clans of the sons of Noah, according to their genealogies, in their nations, and from these the nations spread abroad on the earth after the flood.
- Jeremiah 1:15For behold, I am calling all the tribes of the kingdoms of the north, declares the Lord, and they shall come, and every one shall set his throne at the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem, against all its walls all around and against all the cities of Judah.
- Jeremiah 10:25Pour out your wrath on the nations that know you not, and on the peoples that call not on your name, for they have devoured Jacob; they have devoured him and consumed him, and have laid waste his habitation.
- Nahum 3:4And all for the countless whorings of the prostitute, graceful and of deadly charms, who betrays nations with her whorings, and peoples with her charms.
- Zechariah 14:17And if any of the families of the earth do 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 all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,
- Ezekiel 9:6Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary." So they began with the elders who were before the house.
- Ezekiel 20:36As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God.
- Daniel 9:12He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity. For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against 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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries