Amos 3:13 (ASV)

Passage

Hear ye, and testify against the house of Jacob, saith the Lord Jehovah, the God of hosts.

Nearby Context

Amos 3:11 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: An adversary [there shall be], even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be plundered.

Amos 3:12 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.

Amos 3:13 Hear ye, and testify against the house of Jacob, saith the Lord Jehovah, the God of hosts.

Amos 3:14 For in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will also visit the altars of Beth-el; and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.

Amos 3:15 And I will smite the winter-house with the summer-house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith Jehovah.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "hear", "testify", "against", "house", "jacob", "saith", "lord", and "jehovah". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "hear" and "testify", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "Thus saith Jehovah As the shepherd rescueth..." into verse 14's "For in the day that I shall...", so "hear" and "testify" belong inside that flow. In Amos context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "hear" and "testify" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.