the Week of Christ the King / Proper 29 / Ordinary 34
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Green's Literal Translation
Amos 3:12
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The Lord says, "A lion might attack a lamb, and a shepherd might try to save the lamb. But the shepherd will save only a part of that lamb. He might pull two legs or a part of an ear from the lion's mouth. In the same way, most of the people of Israel will not be saved. Those who live in Samaria will save only a corner from a bed, or a piece of cloth from a couch."
This is what the LORD says: "Just as the shepherd snatches from the lion's mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear, So will the sons of Israel living in Samaria be snatched away— With the corner of a bed and the cover of a couch!
This is what the Lord says: "A shepherd might save from a lion's mouth only two leg bones or a scrap of an ear of his sheep. In the same way only a few Israelites in Samaria will be saved— people who now sit on their beds and on their couches."
This is what the Lord says: "Just as a shepherd salvages from the lion's mouth a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be salvaged. They will be left with just a corner of a bed, and a part of a couch."
Thus says Yahweh: As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, so shall the sons of Israel be rescued that sit in Samaria in the corner of a couch, and on the silken cushions of a bed.
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.
Thus says the LORD, "Just as the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion a couple of legs or a piece of the [sheep's] ear [to prove to the owner that he has not stolen the animal], So will the [remaining] children of Israel living in Samaria be snatched away With the corner of a bed and [part of] the damask covering of a couch.
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.
Thus says Yahweh: "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."
The Lord God seith these thingis, As if a schepherd rauyschith fro the mouth of a lioun tweyne hipis, ether the laste thing of the eere, so the children of Israel schulen be rauyschid, that dwellen in Samarie, in the cuntrei of bed, and in the bed of Damask.
Thus saith the LORD: 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.
This 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 snatched away with the corner of a bed or the cushion of a couch.
The Lord has promised that only a few from Samaria will escape with their lives and with some broken pieces of their beds and couches. It will be like when a shepherd rescues two leg bones and part of a sheep's ear from the jaws of a lion.
Thus 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.
These 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.
This is what Adonai says:
Thus 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.
Thus saith the LORD: 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 that dwell in Samaria escape with the corner of a couch, and the leg of a bed.
Thus saith the Lord, As the shepheard taketh out of the mouth of the lyon two legges or a piece of an eare; 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.
This is what the Lord says: "A shepherd who tries to rescue a sheep from a lion's mouth will recover only two legs or a piece of an ear. So it will be for the Israelites in Samaria lying on luxurious beds, and for the people of Damascus reclining on couches.
The Lord says, "As the shepherd saves from the lion's mouth just two legs or a piece of an ear, so will the people of Israel living in Samaria be saved, with the corner of a bed and a part of a cover.
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 live in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed.
Thus saieth the Lorde, As the shephearde taketh out of the mouth of the lyon two legges, or a piece of an eare: so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus, as in a couche.
Thus says the LORD: As the shepherd takes out of the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall the children of Israel be delivered who dwell in Samaria, along with the people who dwell in Damascus, by a staff that strikes suddenly.
Thus, saith Yahweh, Just as a shepherd rescueth, out of the mouth of the lion, a couple of shankbones, or the tip of an ear, so, shall be rescued the sons of Israel, who are tarrying in Samaria, in the corner of the divan, and on the damask of the luxurious couch.
Thus saith the Lord: As if a shepherd should get out of the lion’s mouth two legs, or the tip of the ear: so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria, in a place of a bed, and in the couch of Damascus.
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 Sama'ria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part of a bed."
Thus sayth the Lorde, As the sheephearde taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legges or a peece of an eare: so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria, in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus [as in] a couche.
Thus saith the Lord; As when a shepherd rescues from the mouth of a lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so shall be drawn forth the children of Israel who dwell in Samaria in the presence of a foreign tribe, and in Damascus.
The Lord says, "As a shepherd recovers only two legs or an ear of a sheep that a lion has eaten, so only a few will survive of Samaria's people, who now recline on luxurious couches.
The Lord says:
Thus says the LORD: "As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs, Or a piece of an ear, So shall the children of Yisra'el be rescued who sit in Shomron on the corner of a couch, And on the silken cushions of a bed."
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.
Thus says Yahweh, "Just as the shepherd rescues two legs or a piece of an ear from the mouth of the lion, so shall the people of Israel who dwell in Samaria, with the corner of a couch and the damask of a bed."
Thus 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.
Thus saieth the LORDE: like as an hyrdeman taketh two legges or a pece off an eare out off the Lyons mouth: Euen so the children of Israel (that dwell in Samaria, hauynge their couches in the corner, and their beddes at Damascus) shalbe plucte awaye.
God 's Message: "In the same way that a shepherd trying to save a lamb from a lion Manages to recover just a pair of legs or the scrap of an ear, So will little be saved of the Israelites who live in Samaria— A couple of old chairs at most, the broken leg of a table.
Thus says the Lord: "As a shepherd takes from the mouth of a lionTwo legs or a piece of an ear,So shall the children of Israel be taken outWho dwell in Samaria--In the corner of a bed and on the edge [fn] of a couch!
Thus says the LORD, "Just as the shepherd snatches from the lion's mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear, So will the sons of Israel dwelling in Samaria be snatched away— With the corner of a bed and the cover of a couch!
Thus says Yahweh,"Just as the shepherd delivers from the lion's mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear,So will the sons of Israel inhabiting Samaria be delivered—With the corner of a bed and the cover of a couch!
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
As the: 1 Samuel 17:34-37, Isaiah 31:4
taketh: Heb. delivereth
so shall: Amos 9:2, Amos 9:3, 1 Kings 20:30, 1 Kings 22:25, Isaiah 8:4, Isaiah 17:1-4, Romans 11:4, Romans 11:5
in Damascus in a couch: or, on the bed's feet, 1 Kings 20:34, 2 Kings 16:9
Reciprocal: Exodus 22:13 - torn in pieces 1 Samuel 17:35 - smote him Isaiah 9:14 - will cut Jeremiah 2:15 - young lions Zechariah 9:1 - Damascus Zechariah 9:7 - I will Revelation 13:2 - and his mouth
Cross-References
And Jehovah God said, It is not good, the man being alone. I will make a helper suited to him.
And the man called names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the heavens, and to every animal of the field. But no helper suited to him was found for a man.
And Jehovah God formed the rib which He had taken from the man into a woman, and brought her to the man.
And Jehovah God said to the woman, What is this you have done? And the woman said, The serpent deceived me, and I ate.
And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He will bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.
And the man called the name of his wife, Eve; because she became the mother of all living.
And Jehovah God made coats of skin for the man and his wife, and clothed them.
And He drove the man out. And He lodged the cherubs at the east of the Garden of Eden, and the flaming sword whirling around to guard the way of the Tree of Life.
if I covered my transgressions like Adam, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom,
The foolishness of man overturns his way, and his heart rages against Jehovah.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
Thus saith the Lord, as the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion,.... Or what the lion has left, to show to his master that it had been seized and torn by a beast of prey; for otherwise it is a most daring thing, and not usual, for a shepherd to take anything out of a lion's mouth, though David did: and here it is said to be not a whole sheep, or a lamb, but
two legs, or a piece of an ear; the body of the creature being devoured by the lion, only some offal left he cared not for; two shanks of the legs that had no flesh upon them, and the gristle of the ear, as the Targum; having satisfied his hunger with the best of it: signifying hereby that only a few of the Israelites should escape the enemy, and those poor and insignificant, he made no account of; and this in a miraculous manner, it being like taking anything out of the mouth of a lion, to which a powerful enemy is compared, and particularly the king of Assyria, Jeremiah 50:17;
so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria; only a few of them, and those the poorest; and their escape will be next to a miracle, when the city will be taken; even such as are weak and sickly, or faint hearted: being
in a corner of a bed; who either through sickness lie there, or slothfulness, danger being near; or through poverty, having only a corner or a piece of a bed to lie on; or through cowardice they hid themselves in one part of it:
and in Damascus [in] a couch; or "in a bed of Damascus" h; the chief city in Syria, taken much about the same time as Samaria was; and where some of the Israelites might betake themselves, and think themselves secure as persons laid on a couch: or at the bed's feet i, as some render it; or "in a corner of a couch" k, as before. The Targum paraphrases it,
"that dwell in Samaria, in the strength of power, trusting in Damascus.''
h ×××שק ערש "in sponda Damasci", Tigurine version; "in grabbato Damasci", so some in Drusius; "in lectis Damascenis", Castalio; so Abendana. i "In crure spondae", Junius Tremellius, Piscator, Tarnovius. k "Angulo grabati", Pagninus "in angulo strati", Montanus. So R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel Moed, fol. 75. 1.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
As 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) âor apieceâ (the tip) âof an ear, soâ (that is, so few and weak, so bared and spoiled, a mere remnant,) âshall the children of Israel be taken outâ (rather, ârescuedâ) âthatâ now âdwellâ at ease âin Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascusâ , in âa couch,â or rather âin Damascus, a couch.â Now, that soft, rounded, oblong, hill of Samaria, was one large luxurious couch, in which its rich and great rested securely, propped and cushioned up on both sides, in, what is still the place of dignity, âthe corner of a bed,â or âDivan,â that is, the inner corner where the two sides meet. Damascus also, which Jeroboam had won for Israel, was a canopied couch to them, in which they stayed themselves. It is an image of listless ease and security, like that of these whom the false prophetesses lulled into careless stupidity as to their souls; âsewing pillows to all armholes,â or âwristsâ Ezekiel 13:18, whereon to lean in a dull inertness.
In vain! Of all those who then dwelt at ease and in luxury, the Good Shepherd Himself should rescue from âthe lion,â (the enemy, in the first instance the Assyrian,) a small remnant, in the sight of the enemy and of man of little account, but precious in the sight of God. The enemy would leave them perhaps, as not worth removing, just as, when the lion has devoured the fat and the strong, the shepherd may recover from him some slight piece of skin or extremity of the bones. Amos then, as well as Joel (see the note at Joel 2:32), preaches that same solemn sentence, so repeated throughout the prophets, âa reimnantâ only âshall be saved.â So doubtless it was in the captivity of the ten tribes, as in the rest. So it was in Judah, when certain âof the poor of the landâ only were âleft behind vinedessers and for farmersâ 2 Kings 25:12; Jeremiah 52:16. In the Gospel, ânot many wise men after the flesh not many mighty, not many noble were calledâ 1 Corinthians 1:26, but âGod chose the poor of this world, rich in faith James 2:5, and the Good Shepherd rescued from the mouth of the lion those whom man despised, yet who âhad ears to hear.â
After the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, a poor remnant only escaped. Rup.: âThe spirit of prophecy foresaw both captivities, the end whereof was to confirm the faith, not in one place only but in all the earth, and so a slight remnant was ârescued from the mouth of the lion,â that is, from the slaughter of the destroyers, and permitted to live, that through them, as a witness and monument, the justice of God might be known from age to age, and the truth of the Scriptures might be everywhere, borne about by them, still witnessing to Christ the Son of God, who is known by the law and the prophets. Hapness remnants, so âtaken outâ for the good of others, not their own!â As these remnants of the animal show what it was which the lion destroyed, yet are of no further profit, so are they now a memorial of what they once were, what grace through their sins they have lost.
Rib.: âMany souls will perish because they trust in their own strength, and no more call on God to have mercy on them than if they could rise of themselves and enter the way of salvation without God. They trust in the power of their friends, or the friendship of princes, or the doctrines of philophers, and repose in them as in a couch of Damascus. But Christ, the Good Shepherd, will rescue out of the mouth of âthe lion,â who âgoeth about seeking, whom he may devour,â what is last and of least esteem in this world, who have anything whereby the Good Shepherd can hold them. The âlegsâ signify the desire to go to hear the Word of God; the extremity of the ear, that obedience was not wholly lost. For if any begin even in part to obey the word of God which he hath heard, God, of His fatherly mercy, will help him and lead him on to perfect obedience. The legs also denote desire , whereby, as by certain steps, the soul approacheth to God or departeth from Him. Yet if a soul would be saved, desires suffice not; but if to these obedience to the heavenly commands be added, it shall be rescued from the mouth of the lion.â
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Amos 3:12. 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 honourable 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 honourable 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.
