God’s Word Translation
Amos 3:2
2Out of all the families on earth, I have known no one else but you. That is why I am going to punish you for all your sins.
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
1Listen to this message which I, the Lord, have spoken against you Israelites, against your whole family that I brought out of Egypt. Out of all the families on earth, I have known no one else but you. That is why I am going to punish you for all your sins. 3Do two people ever walk together without meeting first? 4Does a lion roar in the forest if it has no prey? Does a young lion growl in its den unless it has caught 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 19:5If you carefully obey me and are faithful to the terms of my promise, then out of all the nations you will be my own special possession, even though the whole world is mine.
- Deuteronomy 7:6You are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. He chose you to be his own special possession out of all the nations on earth.
- Deuteronomy 10:15The Lord set his heart on your ancestors and loved them. Because of this, today he chooses you, their descendants, out of all the people of the world.
- Deuteronomy 26:18Today the Lord has declared that you are his people, his own special possession, as he told you. But you must be sure to obey his commands.
- Deuteronomy 32:9But the Lord’s people were his property. Jacob was his own possession.
- Psalms 147:19He speaks his word to Jacob, his laws and judicial decisions to Israel.
- Isaiah 63:19We have become like those whom you never ruled, like those who are not called by your name.
- Genesis 10:32These were the families of Noah’s sons listed by their genealogies, nation by nation. From these ⌞descendants⌟ the nations spread over the earth after the flood.
- Jeremiah 1:15I am going to call every family and kingdom from the north,” declares the Lord. “They will come, and they will set up their thrones at the entrance of Jerusalem’s gates. They will attack all the walls around the city and all the cities of Judah.
- Jeremiah 10:25Pour out your fury on the nations who don’t know you and on people who don’t worship you. They have devoured the descendants of Jacob. They have devoured them completely. They have destroyed their homes.
- Nahum 3:4because of Nineveh’s constant prostitution, this very charming mistress of evil magic. She used to sell nations her prostitution and people her evil magic.
- Zechariah 14:17If any of the families on the earth won’t go to Jerusalem to worship the king, the Lord of Armies, then rain won’t fall on them.
- Acts 17:26From one man he has made every nation of humanity to live all over the earth. He has given them the seasons of the year and the boundaries within which to live.
- Ezekiel 9:6Kill old men, young men, old women, young women, and children. But don’t come near anyone who has a mark on him. Start with my holy place.” So they started with the old men in front of the temple.
- Ezekiel 20:36I will put you on trial as I put your ancestors on trial in the desert of Egypt, declares the Almighty Lord.
- Daniel 9:12So you did what you said you would do to us and our rulers by bringing a great disaster on us. Nowhere in the world has anything ever happened like what has happened 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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