Amos 3:3-8

Contemporary English Version

The Work of a Prophet

³Can two people walk together
    without agreeing to meet?
⁴Does a lion roar in the forest
unless it has caught
    a victim?
Does it growl in its den
    unless it is eating?
⁵How can anyone catch a bird
    without using a net?
Does a trap spring shut
    unless something is caught?

⁶Isn't the whole city frightened
when the trumpet
    signals an attack?
Isn't the Lord the one who brings
    disaster on a city?
⁷Whatever the Lord God
    plans to do,
he tells his servants,
    the prophets.
⁸Everyone is terrified
    when a lion roars—
and ordinary people
become prophets
    when the Lord God speaks.