Amos 3 · Verse 12

Amos 3:12

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.
Amos 3:12, King James Version

Amos 3:12 in other translations

BSBThis is what the LORD says: “As the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites dwelling in Samaria will be rescued having just the corner of a bed or the cushion of a couch.
WEBThe LORD says: “As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be rescued who sit in Samaria on the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed.”
ASVThus saith Jehovah: As the shepherd rescueth out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be rescued that sit in Samaria in the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed.
YLTThus said Jehovah: As the shepherd delivereth from the lion's mouth Two legs, or a piece of an ear, So delivered are the sons of Israel, Who are sitting in Samaria on the corner of a bed, And in Damascus on that of a couch.
DARBYThus saith Jehovah: Like as the shepherd rescueth out of the jaw of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be rescued that sit in Samaria in the corner of a couch, and upon the damask of a bed.
BBEThese are the words of the Lord: As the keeper of sheep takes out of the mouth of the lion two legs or part of an ear; so will the children of Israel be made safe, who are resting in Samaria on seats of honour or on the silk cushions of a bed.
WebsterThus 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.

What does Amos 3:12 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
12. 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 the image 1Sa 17:34, 35; 2Ti 4:17. that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed--that is, that live luxuriously in Samaria (compare Am 6:1, 4). "A bed" means here the Oriental divan, a raised part of the room covered with cushions. in Damascus in a couch--Jeroboam II had lately restored Damascus to Israel (2Ki 14:25, 28). So the Israelites are represented as not merely in "the corner of a bed," as in Samaria, but "in a (whole) couch," at Damascus, living in luxurious ease. Of these, now so luxurious, soon but a remnant shall be left by the foe. The destruction of Damascus and that of Samaria shall be conjoined; as here their luxurious lives, and subsequently under Pekah and Rezin their inroads on Judah, were combined (Is 7:1-8; 8:4, 9; 17:3). The parallelism of "Samaria" to "Damascus," and the Septuagint favor English Version rather than Gesenius: "on a damask couch." The Hebrew pointing, though generally expressing damask, may express the city "Damascus"; and many manuscripts point it so. Compare for Israel's overthrow, 2Ki 17:5, 6; 18:9-12.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 12 As 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 shall escape with as great difficulty, and be of as little worth, as the two legs and piece of an ear that shall be snatched out of the lion's mouth. We know that when the Babylonians carried away the people into Chaldea they left behind only a few, and those the refuse of the land. In the corner of a bed - As the corner is the most honorable place in the East, and a couch in the corner of a room is the place of the greatest distinction; so the words in the text may mean, that even the metropolitan cities, which are in the corner - in the most honorable place - of the land, whether Samaria in Israel, or Damascus in Syria, shall not escape these judgments; and if any of the distinguished persons who dwell in them escape, it must be with as great difficulty as the fragments above-mentioned have been recovered from a lion. The passage is obscure. Mr. Harmer has taken great pains to illustrate it; but I fear with but little success. A general sense is all we can arrive at.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Amos 3:9-15

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…

Read the full comment on Amos 3:9-15 →

Amos 3:12 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כֹּה֮kohthusH3541
אָמַ֣ר'a.Marhe saysH559
יְהוָה֒Yah.wehYahwehH3068
כַּאֲשֶׁר֩ka.'a.Sherjust asH834
יַצִּ֨ילya.Tzilhe deliversH5337
הָרֹעֶ֜הha.ro.'Ehthe shepherdH7462
מִפִּ֧יmi.Pifrom [the] mouth ofH6310
הָאֲרִ֛יha.'a.Ri<the> lionH738
שְׁתֵּ֥יshe.TeitwoH8147
כְרָעַ֖יִםkhe.ra.'A.yimlegsH3767
א֣וֹ'oorH176
בְדַל\־ve.dal-a piece ofH915
אֹ֑זֶן'O.zenan earH241
כֵּ֣ןkensoH3651
יִנָּצְל֞וּyi.na.tze.Luthey will be deliveredH5337
בְּנֵ֣יbe.Nei[the] people ofH1121
יִשְׂרָאֵ֗לYis.ra.'ElIsraelH3478
הַיֹּֽשְׁבִים֙hai.yo.she.Vimwho dwellH3427
בְּשֹׁ֣מְר֔וֹןbe.Sho.me.Ronin SamariaH8111
בִּפְאַ֥תbif.'Atwith a corner ofH6285
מִטָּ֖הmi.Taha bedH4296
וּבִדְמֶ֥שֶׁקu.vid.Me.shekand with silk ofH1833
עָֽרֶשׂ\׃'A.resa couchH6210

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Amos 3:12

  • 1 Samuel 17:34-37

    And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father’s sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.

  • Romans 11:4-5

    But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal. Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

  • Isaiah 31:4

    For thus hath the Lord spoken unto me, Like as the lion and the young lion roaring on his prey, when a multitude of shepherds is called forth against him, he will not be afraid of their voice, nor abase himself for the noise of them: so shall the Lord of hosts come down to fight for mount Zion, and for the hill thereof.

  • Amos 9:2-3

    Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down: And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:

  • 2 Kings 16:9

    And the king of Assyria hearkened unto him: for the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin.

  • 1 Kings 20:30

    But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Ben–hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber.

  • 1 Kings 22:25

    And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself.

  • 1 Kings 20:34

    And Ben–hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him away.

  • Isaiah 17:1-4

    The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the Lord of hosts. And in that day it shall come to pass, that the glory of Jacob shall be made thin, and the fatness of his flesh shall wax lean.

  • Isaiah 8:4

    For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria.

  • Amos 6:4

    That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
As the.
1Sa 17:34-37; Isa 31:4
taketh. Heb. delivereth. so shall.
9:2,3; 1Ki 20:30; 22:25; Isa 8:4; 17:1-4; Ro 11:4,5
in Damascus in a couch. or, on the bed's feet.
1Ki 20:34; 2Ki 16:9

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Amos 3:11

    Therefore thus saith the Lord God; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled.

  • Amos 3:12

    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.

  • Amos 3:13

    Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God, the God of hosts,

Read all of Amos 3

Amos 3:12 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Así ha dicho Jehová: De la manera que el pastor libra de la boca del león dos piernas, ó la punta de una oreja, así escaparán los hijos de Israel que moran en Samaria en el rincón de la cama, y al canto del lecho.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Ainsi dit l’ Éternel: Comme le berger sauve de la gueule du lion deux jambes ou un bout d’oreille, ainsi seront sauvés les fils d’Israël qui sont assis à Samarie sur le coin d’un lit, et sur le damas d’un divan.
German
Elberfelder 1871
So spricht Jehova: Gleichwie der Hirt zwei Beine oder einen Ohrzipfel aus dem Rachen des Löwen rettet, also werden gerettet werden die Kinder Israel, welche in Samaria in der Ecke des Polsters und auf dem Damaste des Ruhebettes sitzen. -
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Hæc dicit Dominus: Quomodo si eruat pastor de ore leonis duo crura, aut extremum auriculæ, sic eruentur filii Israël, qui habitant in Samaria in plaga lectuli, et in Damasci grabato.