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Amos 3:3-8, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Amos 3:3-8
The LORD Has Spoken; the Prophet Must Warn
Two walking together is the first link, not a marriage rule
"Can two walk together, except they be agreed?" opens a chain of cause-and-effect questions. The verb can mean agreed or appointed to meet. It is not a standalone rule that spouses, friends, churches, or partners must agree on everything before walking together.
Lion and prey, bird and snare, trumpet and fear, calamity in a city: each image argues that events have causes. KJV "evil in a city" here is disaster, not God committing moral evil. The verse does not explain every later famine or accident as transparent punishment of its victims.
The roar that makes a prophet speak
The Lord GOD does nothing without revealing counsel to prophetic servants. Then a lion roars and who will not fear; the Lord GOD has spoken and who can but prophesy? Amos speaks because the roar of 1:2 has sounded, and because Israel has already tried to silence prophets (2:12).
The chain may defend Amos's commission or characterize the warning word of chapter 3; both keep 3:3 inside 3:8. Revealed counsel is not a secret sold by an unreviewable claimant. Verse 8 does not authorize date-setting, conspiracy, or coercive spiritual authority.
How this should shape us
Read the whole argument before quoting 3:3 on a relationship. Trace claimed causes with evidence. Distinguish accountable warning from manipulative certainty, and do not treat every disaster as a readable verdict on the people who suffered it.
Teach it back
Explain Amos 3:3-8 in your own words. Include its place in Amos's judgment-restoration movement, one material uncertainty, and one use the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Apology-of-Amos and characterization-of-the-word readings are both substantial; translation of agreement, trap mechanics, calamity, counsel, and the exact logical pairings remains discussed.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Amos 3:3-8, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, clause relationships, wordplays, names, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Amos.xml, 3:3-8
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, literary, historical, and uncertainty notes.
NET Bible Amos PDF, printed pp. 1711, translation and notes on 3:3-8
Supports: Whole-book movement, eighth-century horizon, literary boundaries, composition, and verse-level alternatives.
Dines, 'Amos,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 584-585, discussion of 3:3-8
Supports: The cause-and-effect chain, Amos-apology reading, and strong alternative that the sequence characterizes the divine word.
Mackerle, 'Am 3:3-8,' Studia Theologica 18.1 (2016), English abstract and article pp. 1-19, especially abstract and rhetorical analysis
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing Scripture wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Amos 3:3-8, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Amos
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording, morphology, clause relationships, wordplays, names, and the base text behind translation discussion.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Amos.xml, 3:3-8
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Amos with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level translation, syntax, textual, literary, historical, and uncertainty notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Amos PDF, printed pp. 1711, translation and notes on 3:3-8
Open source ↗modern critical commentary
Amos
Jennifer M. Dines
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, 2001
Supports: Whole-book movement, eighth-century horizon, literary boundaries, composition, and verse-level alternatives.
Exact location: Dines, 'Amos,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 584-585, discussion of 3:3-8
Open source ↗peer reviewed journal article
Am 3:3-8. Apology of a Prophet, or a Characterization of God's Word in the Book of Amos?
Adam Mackerle
Studia Theologica 18.1, 2016
Supports: The cause-and-effect chain, Amos-apology reading, and strong alternative that the sequence characterizes the divine word.
Exact location: Mackerle, 'Am 3:3-8,' Studia Theologica 18.1 (2016), English abstract and article pp. 1-19, especially abstract and rhetorical analysis
Open source ↗