Amos 3:4 BSB — MannaFest

Amos 3:4

Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl in his den if he has caught nothing?

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?

KJV

Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?

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Commentary

4 voices

Jerome

Commentary on Amos (420)

(Verse 3 onwards) Will two walk together unless they have agreed? Does a lion roar in the forest unless it has prey? Does a lion's cub give a cry from its den without capturing something? Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground without a trapper? Does a trap spring up from the ground before catching something? If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, has not the Lord caused it?

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

Cyril of Alexandria

Commentary on Amos (444)

Those who study the habits of wild beasts say that the lion, when it is in need of food, roams about powerfully through mountains and glens and forests, turning its eye this way and that, and seeking to catch something of the animals grazing in the woods. But when it sees something suitable for food, then it comes near and makes its attack, roaring terribly and harshly. Why then, He says, do you accuse God, because He makes the threat before the attack of terrible things?

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? - Then, further, each question by itself suggests its own thought. Amos had already, in repeating Joel’s words, spoken of God’s Voice, under the image of a lion roaring (Amo 1:2; Hos 11:10 (add Hos 5:14; Hos 6:1; Hos 13:7); Jer 25:30). Hosea had likened Israel to “a silly dove without heat Hos 7:11; on the other hand, he had likened God’s loud call to repentance to the roaring of the lion, the conversion of Israel to the return of the dove to its home Hos 11:10-

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

13 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
הֲיִשְׁאַ֤ג	ha.yish.'Ag	¿ does it roar	H7580 →
אַרְיֵה֙	'ar.Yeh	a lion	H738 →
בַּיַּ֔עַר	bai.Ya.'ar	in the forest	H3293 →
וְטֶ֖רֶף	ve.Te.ref	and prey	H2964 →
אֵ֣ין	'ein	not	H369 →
ל֑וֹ	lo	[belongs] to it
הֲיִתֵּ֨ן	ha.yi.Ten	¿ does it give forth	H5414 →
כְּפִ֤יר	ke.Fir	a young lion	H3715 →
קוֹלוֹ֙	ko.Lo	voice its	H6963 →
מִמְּעֹ֣נָת֔וֹ	mi.me.'O.na.To	from den its	H4585 →
בִּלְתִּ֖י	bil.Ti	except	H1115 →
אִם־	'im-	if	H518 →
לָכָֽד׃	la.Khad	it has caught [something]	H3920 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Amos 1:2
He said: “The LORD roars from Zion and raises His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the summit of Carmel withers.”
leads to
- Joel 3:16
  The LORD will roar from Zion and raise His voice from Jerusalem; heaven and earth will tremble. But the LORD will be a refuge for His people, a stronghold for the people of Israel.
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Jeremiah 25:30
  So you are to prophesy all these words against them and say to them: ‘The LORD will roar from on high; He will raise His voice from His holy habitation. He will roar loudly…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
Through
Hosea 11:10
They will walk after the LORD; He will roar like a lion. When He roars, His children will come trembling from the west.
leads to
- Amos 1:2
  He said: “The LORD roars from Zion and raises His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the summit of Carmel withers.”
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Isaiah 31:4
  For this is what the LORD has said to me: “Like a lion roaring or a young lion over its prey—and though a band of shepherds is called out against it, it is not…
Through
Hosea 5:14
For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them to pieces and then go away. I will carry them…
leads to
- Psalms 7:2
  or they will shred my soul like a lion and tear me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
- Micah 5:8
  Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which…
Through
Amos 3:8
The lion has roared—who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken—who will not prophesy?
leads to
- Jeremiah 20:9
  If I say, “I will not mention Him or speak any more in His name,” His message becomes a fire burning in my heart, shut up in my bones, and I become weary of…
- Acts 4:20
  For we cannot stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

About Amos

The Prophet Amos — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Amos: the study guide →Read chapter 3 →The featured study →

Continue: Amos 3 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

06About Amos

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

About Amos