Amos 3:12 (DBY)

Passage

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.

Nearby Context

Amos 3:10 and they know not to do right, saith Jehovah, who store up violence and plunder in their palaces.

Amos 3:11 Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah: An adversary! even round about the land! And he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be pillaged.

Amos 3:12 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.

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

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

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "thus", "saith", "jehovah", "like", "shepherd", "rescueth", "lion", and "legs". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "thus" and "saith", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "Therefore thus saith the Lord Jehovah An..." into verse 13's "Hear ye and testify in the house...", so "thus" and "saith" 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 "thus" and "saith" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.