Amos 3

1–2

(Chapter 3, verses 1-2) Listen to the word that the Lord spoke against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family that I brought out of the land of Egypt, saying: You alone have I known out of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. LXX: Listen to this word that the Lord spoke against you, O house of Israel, and against all the tribe that I brought out of the land of Egypt, saying: However, I have known you among all the tribes of the earth; therefore I will avenge all your evils upon you. He addresses the sons of Israel, and in the following verse, he shows who these sons of Israel are: Above all, he says, the kindred that I brought out of the land of Egypt, which we must not only consider in the ten tribes, but in all twelve, including Judah and Benjamin. For he brought all out of the land of Egypt, and he says: Only, or as Symmachus interpreted: Only you have I known of all the kindreds of the earth. And because I have known only you, who are the Creator of all, and I have considered you my peculiar people, for this reason I will restore all your sins only upon you: For the mighty will powerfully endure torments (Wis. VI); but he who is the least, is worthy of mercy. And in Ezekiel we read: Begin from my sanctified ones (Ezek. IX, 6). And the judgment of God is said to begin from his house (I Pet. IV). Let this be said for now according to the history. Moreover, because hearing is understood in the Holy Scriptures, not only in the sense of perceiving with the ears of the flesh, but also in the sense of understanding, as the Lord says: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Luke 8:8). Therefore, when the whole people saw the voice of God (Exodus 20), it was a direct message from the Lord to those who perceived God with their senses, namely those whom He brought out of the land of Egypt and from the power of Pharaoh (so that they would no longer serve mud and straw by building Egyptian cities), and those whom He knew from all the tribes of the earth, as the Apostle says: But now, having come to know God, or rather, having been known by God (Galatians 4:9). And in another place: He who is ignorant, will be ignored (I Cor. XIV, 38). Therefore, not all know God, but those who are worthy of His knowledge, as it is said in the Gospel: Depart from me, workers of iniquity, I do not know you (Luc. XIII, 27). For in being workers of iniquity, they are ignorant of God: therefore He says: Because I knew only you, and I had mine, I will visit upon you all your iniquities. Whom the Lord loves, He chastises, and He corrects every son whom He receives (Hebr. XII). And he said beautifully: I will visit, and I will not strike; for the plague of God is a visitation, and a healing. And he said, I will visit all your iniquities or sins, so that nothing may remain unstruck, so that nothing may not receive healing.

Commentary on Amos

The word might be understood as having come against all of Israel, no longer taking Judah and Ephraim in part, but with the whole race gathered as if into one; for every tribe of Israel was brought up from Egypt. Therefore, with none being left out, he commands them to hear the things from God. And what were these things? For there are countless, he says, cities and countries throughout the whole world under heaven, and those in them are beyond number, but you from Israel out of all I have made chosen, I made myself manifest through many wonders, I delivered you from bitter and unbearable slavery, I declared you enviable and thrice-blessed, I have instructed you by law for what is pleasing to me, I have fortified you with my assistance, and I have brought you into the land promised to the fathers. But since you alone, he says, out of all who have been deemed worthy of so conspicuous a grace have not ceased grieving and have offended in many ways, for this reason I will henceforth demand of you an account of your folly, I will no longer tolerate those who sin and have an unreproved inclination for this. Therefore, to despise God and to disregard the master's will is a cause of destruction for anyone henceforth who has known him, or has been known by him, in the manner of spiritual kinship.

Commentary on Amos

And each of us thinks, since he has not been an idolater, since he has not been immoral—would that we were pure in such areas—that after he has been set free from this life, he will be saved. We do not see that “all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive either good or evil according to what he has done in the body.” We do not hear what has been said: “You especially have I known out of all the tribes on the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all”—not just some and not others—“of your iniquities.”

Homilies on Jeremiah 20:3

For this very cause God accuses the Israelites more vehemently, and shows that they were worthy of greater chastisement, because they sinned after so many honors had come to them from Him.

The most merciful physician, cutting away the cancerous flesh, spares not in order to spare; he pities not in order to pity the more. For whom the Lord loves he chastens, and he scourges every son whom he receives.

Commentary on Ezekiel 7

3–8

(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? For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. The lion roars, who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken, who will not prophesy? Amos: If two shall walk together, except they know each other? If the lion shall roar in his den, having no prey? If the lion's cub gives forth its voice from its lair, unless it has taken something? If a bird falls to the ground without a fowler? If a snare is laid upon the ground, unless it has caught something? If the trumpet sounds in the city, and the people do not fear? If there is wickedness in the city that the Lord did not make, because the Lord God will not do anything unless He reveals His teaching to His servant prophets. Will a lion roar, and who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken, and who will not prophesy? I read in the commentaries of someone who desired to convince of a difficult matter, about eight crimes, wickednesses, and sins: first, Damascus; second, Gaza, and the other cities of Palestine; third, Tyre; fourth, Edom; fifth, the sons of Ammon; sixth, Moab; seventh, Judah, that is, the two tribes; eighth, which is the last, Israel, that is, the ten tribes, with the same number of judgments, now given, and the first answering the first, that is, Damascus, the second answering the second, that is, Gaza, and the rest answering the rest. The one who wrote it knows whether it is true or not. However, another person thinks that the six examples given, of two people walking together on a road, and a lion roaring while leaping, and a lion cub making its voice when it catches something, and a bird caught by a bird catcher, and a snare set in the ground for catching prey, and a trumpet sounding in the city, and with these examples, a similar argument is given, that just as the previous things have a cause and do not happen unless those things have preceded them: likewise, no evil occurs in the city that has not been done by the Lord's command. There are those who consider the first example to contain doctrine, because two cannot walk together unless they have agreed to do so beforehand. He who made both one, and destroyed the middle wall of partition, and created of the two one new man (Ephesians 2): and made peace between them, and joined them together with the bond of charity, so that when they are together, the two may ask the Father and obtain whatever they have requested. These are the two sticks that are joined together in Ezekiel (Ezek. VII), and the two peoples, the circumcision and the Gentiles, about whom the Lord speaks to Elijah: I have left for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee before Baal (3 Kings XIX, 18). And in another place, God says: I was found by those who did not seek me; I appeared to those who did not ask for me (Isaiah LXV, 1). But when the two are brought together, they will cling to the Lord, and they will become one spirit: for he who clings to the Lord is one spirit (1 Cor. VI, 17). Therefore, these two who agree with each other and walk together in the way of Christ, cannot fear the attack of any adversaries. But if they are separated by discord, immediately the roaring lion will invade them, about which Peter the Apostle said: Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour (I Pet. 5:8). This roaring lion does not roam in cultivated fields, nor among vineyards, nor in olive groves, nor among fruit-bearing trees which praise God; but where there are forests and uncultivated ground, and where wild beasts dwell. And not only will they be exposed to the bites of the lion, but the lion cub will capture them and lead them to its den, fleeing from the light and going towards darkness. For everyone who sins loves darkness and hates the light (John 3), as we read in the psalm: You have set darkness, and it has become night: in it all the beasts of the forest will roam. The lion cubs roaring, to snatch and seek food from God (Psalm 104). For the lion cub seeks not the prey which it possesses and is under its power; but that it may snatch from the Church of Christ, of which it is written in Habakkuk: Its choice food (Hab. 1:16). The third punishment is for those whom discord has separated, that they lose their wings, on which they were previously carried aloft, and fall from heaven to earth, and are caught by the birdcatcher, who is better called the fowler, because he catches birds that are entangled in birdlime, which have descended willingly to earthly things. About which it is written in Proverbs: 'The nets are not unjustly spread for the birds' (Prov. I, 17, and XXIX, 5). For it is a just punishment for sinners, who, having the wings of doves, ought to fly through the air, that they are weighed down by the burden of sins and are brought down to earth, sticking to their vices. Concerning this, we read in the Apostle: 'He who joins himself to a harlot becomes one body with her' (I Cor. VI, 16). The fourth punishment is for those who are in discord, so that they are caught in a snare not set in heaven, but on earth. Regarding this, the holy one rejoices and says: 'Our soul has been delivered as a sparrow from the snare of the hunters; the snare has been broken, and we have been set free' (Ps. CXXIII, 7). This is the broken snare, of which the Apostle speaks to believers: God will crush Satan beneath your feet quickly (Rom. XVI, 20). And again in David we read: They have set a stumbling block on my path (Ps. CXXXVI, 6). For they cannot deceive the simple ones of the believers unless they propose the name of Christ, so that while we think we find Christ, we may go on to the Antichrist. The fifth punishment is for those who have forsaken the peace, which surpasses all understanding (Philipp. IV), and which the Lord, going to the Father, left to the Apostles, saying: My peace I give to you, my peace I leave with you (John XIV, 27), so that as citizens of the Lord, they are terrified by the sound of the trumpet. For whatever is said in the Holy Scriptures, it is like a threatening trumpet, penetrating the ears of believers with a loud voice. If we are righteous, we are provoked to blessedness through the trumpet of Christ; if we are sinners, we hear what torments we will suffer. However, the evil that the Lord does in a city is not contrary to virtue, but it is affliction and torment, as we read: Each day has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34), that is, tribulation and distress. And in the Prophet, we read: I am God who made light and darkness, who brings peace and creates evil (Isaiah XLV, 6, 7). Just as darkness is contrary to light and day, so war is contrary to peace, which in itself is not evil, but seems evil to those who suffer it. And so we know, from the holy Scriptures, that sometimes wickedness is not opposed to virtue, but is rather affliction, punishment, and distress. Let us take one more example from Jonah: And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil ways, and he repented of the evil which he had said that he would do unto them (Jonah III, 10). Surely there is the evil overthrow of the Ninevites, which God had threatened through the prophet, and it is not contrary to virtue, which pertains to sin, for which He threatened torment to sinners. It follows: The Lord God will not do a word unless He has revealed His secret, or His correction, to His servant prophets: not that God reveals to the prophets all that He does in heaven, or has already done before; but what He is about to do on earth. Noah revealed to his servant that he would bring a flood. Abraham and Lot revealed to their servants that Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim would be destroyed. Joseph revealed the interpretation of a dream of seven years of famine in Egypt. And Jonah revealed the destruction of Nineveh, so that those who heard of the coming punishments would either repent and avoid torment, or those who ignored them would be justly punished. And now the Lord reveals through his servant and prophet Amos what he will do to the ten tribes, that if they are converted to better things and forsake their idols, they may be delivered from the impending danger. And note that the merciful and gracious God always foretells the future so that he is not compelled to inflict punishments. And as for the heretics who slander the Creator as if he were severe and harsh, cruel and only a judge, because there is no evil in the state that he does not do, we refer this to the greatness of his mercy, that he does not inflict punishments unless he has foretold them beforehand. But whoever predicts does not want to punish the sinners. The lion, he says, will roar, and who will not be afraid? The Lord God has spoken, who will not prophesy? Who in this place is not accepted as being for the rare, but not for the impossible. For he who disregards the Lord due to his own stubbornness will not be afraid and will not prophesy. And the meaning is according to the story: if everything trembles at the voice of the lion, and all the nature of animals is frightened, shall we, by God's command to speak and announce to the people the coming punishments, not prophesy? Shall we not speak? I know that someone has written in his Commentaries about a roaring lion to be understood as the devil, and roaring towards those who are about to perish: but God, who speaks through the Prophets, should be referred to the Lord Savior, just as those who hear the roaring of the lion in a bad way and are captured unto death, so the holy ones should hear the Lord commanding in a good way and be saved.

Commentary on Amos

He therefore accuses them, because they claimed that the prophets from Him did not convey words from above and from God; but rather they thought that things were being uttered from their own opinion, and that they were speaking things different from what seemed good to the Lord of all. For this reason He says, O foolish and senseless ones, will any of you become friends and walk the same path of life, not having known yourselves, or rather one another; that is, unless they have seen one another to be of the same character and like-minded? "For every creature loves its like, and a man will cleave to his like." And if this is true, how could I have accepted the prophets, as it were, into friendship and love, being holy Myself, if they too had not become holy? How then do you persecute the saints, to whom I have entrusted My words, whom I have accepted as good, as it were walking the same road of My wills? For whatever I might wish, this is also their will. Therefore, to rebuke the prophets is nothing other than to direct the rebuke against Me.

Commentary on Amos

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? And why do you gnash your teeth at the prophets themselves, because they too have cried out against your impiety? For I am like a lion, He says, which is accustomed to roar before the hunt, all but threatening the attack beforehand, and the prophets are like cubs, imitating my custom. But just as for the animals in the mountains the hunter's shout beforehand is not entirely unprofitable, scaring them to flight before they happen to be caught, so also for sinners the threat and prediction before the terrible things is exceedingly useful, leading them to repentance and avoidance of what is impending. God, therefore, compares himself to a lion that does not leap upon and bring things from his wrath upon some, unless he first makes known the threat, so that by repenting they might be saved, receiving the prediction of the things that will be as a medicine for salvation before the onset of the terrible things.

Commentary on Amos

The discourse is now made by way of comparison. For fowlers most skillfully bring down the sparrows that have settled in the plants, and with snares, on the other hand, some crush what is caught. But the discourse now seems to signify through the sparrows those who are accustomed to think lofty things, the boastful in mind and arrogant in spirit, and not enduring to be brought down with the lowly; and through those caught in snares, the lovers of earthly things, and those who seek only carnal and fattening things. And God again compares himself to a fowler and a snare, bringing the proud down to the earth, and as it were crushing and hunting for punishment those who mind only the things on earth. But those from Israel were boastful, despising God and rejecting prophets and dishonoring the law; and they were no less also exceedingly greedy for the things in the world, and seeking only the things on earth, overcome by whose strange desires they did not accept the word of God, but opposed those who call to virtue.

Commentary on Amos

I do not say these things in arrogance, but I have the prophet Amos standing at my side, crying and saying, “There is no evil in the city which the Lord has not done.” Now evil is a many-faceted term. I wish that you shall learn the exact meaning of each expression, in order that on account of ambiguity you may not confound the nature of the things and fall into blasphemy. There is then evil, which is really evil; fornication, adultery, covetousness, and the countless dreadful things, which are worthy of the utmost reproach and punishment. Again there is evil, which rather is not evil but is called so, famine, pestilence, death, disease, and other of a similar nature. For these would not be evils. On this account I said they are called so only. Why then? Because, were they evils intended to become the sources of good to us, chastening our pride, goading our sloth and leading us on to zeal, making us more attentive.

Homily Against Those Who Say That Demons Govern Human Affairs 1:4–5

But perhaps you say that the outcome of these matters grieves you not moderately. Will there then be an affliction in a city, perchance, which the Lord has not done? It is like as if one should say: Will there then be anyone among men able to afflict a city either with diseases or sieges or destructions of crops or even in some other such way? But if no one of men could do such things, and it lies rather in the authority and power of God, why are you angry with those who announce it beforehand? And yet it is necessary to repent, and by inclinations to this to appease him the one who is grieved and has the power to harm those who have sinned. Therefore, in these matters, we shall understand the 'evil' that comes from God in the cities not as wickedness—far from it!—but rather as an affliction, that is, the wrath and movement for whatever reason, which He might bring upon sinners, persuading them to turn back to what is more fitting. For it is written that, "With bit and bridle you shall restrain the jaws of those who do not draw near to you." For since He is good, and "wishes all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth," He somehow compels them by means of wrath toward what is better, and sometimes powerfully moves, with terrors and threats, those whom reason and the guidance of what is beneficial do not persuade.

Commentary on Amos

As it is impossible for two people to share a journey at the same time, he is saying, unless indicating to each other where and why they are traveling, or for a lion to roar if there is no prey, or for a bird to fall without a hunter, or for all the other things mentioned, so it is impossible for any punishment to be imposed without God willing it. He calls punishment “evil,” note, by use of a general custom: we are accustomed to use “troubles” of diseases, chastisements, untimely deaths, famines, wars, and the like, not because they are troublesome by nature but because they are troublesome to human beings and the source of distress and grief.

Commentary on Amos 3:6–8

It is, then, customary for sacred Scripture to speak of his permission as an action and deed, but even when it goes so far as to say that God “creates evil” and that “there is not evil in a city which the Lord has not done,” it still does not show God to be the author of evil. On the contrary, since the word evil is ambiguous it has two meanings, for it sometimes means what is by nature evil, being the opposite of virtue and against God’s will, while at other times it means what is evil and painful in relation to our sensibility, which is to say, tribulation and distress. Now while these last seem to be evil, because they cause pain, actually they are good because to such as understand them they are a source of conversion and salvation. It is these last that Scripture says are permitted by God. Moreover, one must know that we too cause them because involuntary evils spring from voluntary ones.

Orthodox Faith 4:20

But if there were no evils in the world, much good would be lost to man, as well in respect of knowledge, as also in respect of desire and love of good: for good is better known in contrast with evil; and while evil results come about, we more ardently desire good results: as sick men best know what a blessing health is.

The Lord reveals to the prophets all things that are necessary for the instruction of the faithful; yet not all to every one, but some to one, and some to another. And although God revealed in general to the prophets what He was one day to do regarding the salvation of the human race, still the apostles knew some particulars of the same, which the prophets did not know. Thus we read (Ephesians 3:4-5): "As you reading, may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other generations was not known to the sons of men, as it is now revealed to His holy apostles." Among the prophets also, the later ones knew what the former did not know; according to Psalm 118:100: "I have had understanding above ancients," and Gregory says: "The knowledge of Divine things increased as time went on" (Hom. xvi in Ezech.).

National calamity is traced to national sin, specially to neglect of the poor.

“Lord, you have been our refuge.” Therefore we have recourse to you. Our healing shall be from you, for our evil is from ourselves. Because we have abandoned you, you have abandoned us to ourselves. May we therefore be found in you, for in ourselves we had been lost. “Lord, you have been our refuge.” Why, my brethren, should we doubt that the Lord will make us gentle if we submit ourselves to be tamed by him? You have tamed the lion, which you did not create. Will your Creator be unable to tame you? What is the source of your power to tame such savage beasts? Are you their equal in bodily strength? By what power then have you been able to tame such huge beasts? The so-called beasts of burden are wild by nature, for if untamed they could not be endured. But because you are not accustomed to see them except when handled by men and under the curb and control of men, you might think that they were born tame. At any rate, consider the savage beasts. The lion roars; who does not fear? And yet, whence your knowledge of the fact that you are more powerful? Not in bodily strength but in the inner reason of the mind. You are more powerful than a lion, because you have been made to the image of God. The image of God tames a wild beast. Is God unable to tame his own image?

Sermon 55:3

"A lion will roar, and who will not be afraid? The Lord God has spoken, and who will not prophesy?" It is not the prophets, he says, who bring on the things that come from wrath; how could they? For they are also human in nature, just like you, but they have been honored by God by learning all the things that He might wish to fulfill, and to bring upon cities and lands either good things, perhaps, or things that are accustomed to cause pain. But perhaps you say to this: Let them learn, if you wish; let them be enriched by you with the knowledge of future events; let all the mysteries be made clear to them; but let them speak to no one, nor let them sound anything in the ears of those who reject them. What then is the reply to this from God? A lion will roar and who will not be afraid? For if, he says, when the lion roars, the most powerful of beasts, there would not be anyone so hard-hearted and arrogant as not to receive fear, how, when God, who is above all, speaks and commands them to announce what they learn, would they not fear the one who has commanded them? For they are not, like you, scornful and unyielding, holding in no account the things that seem good to the Lord of all.

Commentary on Amos

9–10

(Vers. 9, 10.) Make it heard in the houses of Azotus, and in the houses of the land of Egypt, and say: Gather yourselves together upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the many follies in the midst thereof, them that suffer wrong, and that oppress in the innermost parts thereof, and they have not known to do the right thing, saith the Lord: treasuring up iniquity and spoils in their houses. LXX: Declare ye in the countries of the Assyrians, and make it known in the land of Egypt, and say: Gather yourselves together upon the mountain of Samaria, and behold the many wonderful things in the midst thereof, and the oppressions in it, and they have not known the things that are to come in it, saith the Lord, who treasureth up iniquity and misery in their countries. We have already mentioned that the prophet Amos specifically, indeed a large part of the volume, prophesies to the ten tribes called Israel and Ephraim, and Samaria. Therefore, he is also commanded to announce now to Ashdod and the land of Egypt that follows. For Ashdod, the Seventy Assyrians wanting something, since Ashdod is called Esdod in the language of the Hebrews, and the Assyrians, Assur. For the buildings that are called Armanoth, they rendered regions, which are called Sadoth, and they have nothing in the word of similitude. He said, 'Tell them to gather all the nations that are nearby, and let them see the crimes of Israel, so that they do not think that God's judgment is unjust. Just as if he were to say, 'First see what they do, and then you can approve of my opinion.' And he introduced it beautifully: Over the mountains of Samaria, or the city that is now called Sebaste, then known as Samaria, or the whole province that is situated in the mountains: and see the many insanities in their midst, that they worship calves as gods and sacrifice their own children. Not content with this wickedness, they defame the poor in their own homes and do not know how to do what is right, storing up not gold and money, which are sometimes obtained through labor, but wickedness and plunder in their own houses: so that because they have deserted the worship of God and have worshipped idols, God may give them over to a reprobate mind, to do what is not fitting.' And since, according to the laws of tropology, Samaria is referred to as the heretics who falsely claim to be the keepers of God's commandments, the divine word commands that they preach among the Gentiles who do not have the knowledge of God, in whose doctrine there is a consuming fire, tribulation, and distress. So that they may consider the false Samaria and ascend to the mountains of its pride, and see the many insanities in the midst of the city, while each one imagines whatever he desires and worships his own creation - like Marcion who considers God to be good but inactive, like Valentinus who believes in thirty αἰῶνας and an ultimate Christ, whom he calls an abortive, like Basilides who calls the omnipotent God by the wondrous name Ἀβράξας and says that the annual course of the sun is contained within the circle, which the pagans call Μείθραν under the same number of other letters. And the follies of Iberians marvel at Balsamo Barbeloque. Are these not insanity and many insanities, with each person imagining whatever comes into their mind? They also endure slander in their innermost places, or the simple ones who believe are oppressed; while under the guise of truth they cultivate falsehood, and they do not know how to do what is right at all, because they have lost the path of truth, and they do not believe in the one who says: I am the truth (John 14:6): and they hoard for themselves the doctrines of wickedness, and they seize and enclose in their houses those whom they can deceive with false error. But if it pleases to read the Assyrians (which, however, is not found in Hebrew), let us say that they are those of whom it is written: I will bring upon you a great chief of the Assyrians, who said, With my strength I will act, and so on, so that the heretics may be captured by the Assyrian and held in the land of Egypt, from which they have already come to the Church and been released.

Commentary on Amos

(Verse 11) Therefore thus says the Lord God: The land shall be troubled and surrounded, and your strength shall be taken away from you, and your houses shall be plundered. LXX: Therefore thus says the Lord God: Tyre and the surrounding land will be deserted by your strength, and your regions will be plundered. Regarding Tyre, which is written in Hebrew with two letters, Sade () and Res (); and it is called Sor (): which both Aquila and the Seventy translated similarly: a Hebrew who instructed me in the Holy Scriptures interpreted it as tribulation, and we did not reject his opinion: for Symmachus, who is accustomed to follow not the wordplay, but the order of meaning, says, siege and encirclement of the land. For the siege, which is called πολιορκία by him, was placed by Theodotion who thought not Sar and Sor (which is called tribulation, or Tyre, but Sur should be read: which properly refers to a very hard rock, which is called ἀκρότομος in Greek, and which we can call flint in Latin. Let us therefore speak about each one. The LXX said: Tyre and the land surrounding it. And the sentence seemed to hang: they added therefore of their own, it will be deserted: nor is it an error of the interpreters, where because of the ambiguity of the word, both tribulation and Tyre can be said. And the meaning is: Over the mountains of Samaria my people have done many insanities: slandering and completely ignoring what is right, and hoarding for themselves injustice and plunder: therefore they will be afflicted, or crushed, and surrounded by the Assyrian army, and, she says, strength will be taken away from you, o Samaria, o ten tribes, o once my people: and they will be plundered in your houses, which you have gathered through the tears of the wretched by means of slander. The heretics also will be afflicted on the day of judgment, and all their strength will be weakened, and what they had gained through plunder will be taken away, so that the people whom they had deceived may be freed: or certainly they will be afflicted every day by ecclesiastical men, and they will be surrounded by testimonies of the Scriptures, and strength of syllogisms, and clever words by which they had confirmed their own doctrine will be taken away from them. And their houses will be plundered: so that those who were taken from the Church may return to the Church.

Commentary on Amos

If, then, any hope of salvation is still left to you, if any slight remembrance of God, if any desire for future rewards, if any fear of the punishments reserved for the unrepentant come back quickly to sobriety; raise your eyes to the heavens; return to your senses; cease your wickedness; shake off the drunkenness that has drenched you; stand up against him who has overthrown you. Have the strength to rise up from the earth. Remember the good Shepherd, how he will pursue and deliver you. And if there are but “two legs, or the tip of an ear,” leap back from him who has wounded you. Remember the compassion of God, how he heals with olive oil and wine. Do not despair of salvation. Recall the memory of what has been written, how he that falls rises again, and he that is turned away turns again, he that has been smitten is healed, he that is caught by wild beasts escapes, and he that confesses is not rejected. The Lord does not wish the death of the sinner, but that he return and live. Do not be contemptuous as one who has fallen into the depths of sins.

Letter 44, to a Fallen Monk

12–13

(Vers. 12, 13.) Thus says the Lord: Just as a shepherd rescues from the mouth of a lion two legs or the tip of an ear, so will the sons of Israel who dwell in Samaria be rescued, on the corner of a bed and in Damascus on the sheets. LXX: Thus says the Lord: Just as a shepherd tears away from the mouth of a lion two legs or the tip of an ear, so will the sons of Israel who dwell in Samaria be torn away, in front of the tribe and in Damascus. In the beginning of Amos, where we discussed those verses: The Lord will roar from Zion, and from Jerusalem He will give His voice; and the beautiful pastures will mourn, and the top of Carmel will wither, we said that He was using his art of speaking so that, since as a shepherd of sheep He knew nothing more terrifying than a lion, He would compare the anger of the Lord to lions. According to this meaning, he now also takes an example from what he had often seen, and thus describes that the small remaining remnants of the Assyrians must be extracted by hand: just as if a shepherd, with all the other parts devoured, were to snatch two legs or the outermost part of the ear from the jaws of a lion. And with the example of comparison set aside, he says that the sons of Israel, specifically the ten tribes who dwell in Samaria, will be extracted in the same way, from the edge of the bed and from the grab at Damascus. What seems to me to be explained in this way: we read in Isaiah that Rezin king of Aram, that is, the Syrians, who reigned in Damascus, and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel, with the intention of fighting against Judah, came (Isa. VII): concerning whom the Lord directs Achaz king of Judah and Jerusalem not to be afraid of the two half-burnt torches: because as a sign of complete liberation, the Virgin's conception and childbirth are shown to him. Therefore, the children of Samaria dwell in the region and district of the bed, resting in the help of the Syrians, and promising victory to themselves in the bed of Damascus: just as one who is tired is refreshed in bed: so they fortified their weakened forces with the help of the neighboring nation. And in the same Isaiah, it is said by way of a type of future events, that a child will be born who, before he knows how to call his father and mother, will receive the spoils of Samaria and the power of Damascus, which, of course, fought against Jerusalem with united forces (Ibid.). For the blow of the bed and of Damascus, the Seventy translated it against the tribe and in Damascus: so that, according to the symbolism, we may refer the tribe to Judah, and Damascus to the calling of the Gentiles: from which one flock of the Lord was made, whose wild beasts often tear apart the sheep: from whose jaws scarcely two legs or the very tip of the ear are taken away. In the calf the path of teachings is shown, in the ear the sacraments of words. Therefore, even the apostles were commanded to walk without shoes and any skin of a dead animal on their bare feet (Matth. X). And it is said to the believers: He who has ears to hear, let him hear (Luc. VIII, 8). In the Apocalypse of John, we also read: He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches (Apoc. II, 7). And more explicitly through the prophet: Set your words in the ears of your heart. Both heretics and their teachers rush to hinder this journey and to weave nets so that we may fall on the way that is Christ. But if a man from the church and a man of God come, and Samson, who is interpreted as 'sun', kills the lion: descending into the lake of the underworld, which cools the waters, he suffocates the lion in the time of snow, storm, and winter: so that we may be able to follow the Lord with sure foot and safe ears, and hear his words.

Commentary on Amos

God’s other titles fall into two distinct groups. The first group belongs to his power, the second to his providential ordering of the world, a twofold providential ordering—involving, and not involving, incarnation. Clear cases of titles that belong to his power are “Almighty” and “King”—whether it be of “glory,” “the ages,” “of the forces,” or “of the beloved” or the “rulers”16—“Lord Sabbaoth,” which means “lord of the armies,” “forces” or “masters.” To his providential ordering belong “God”—be it “of salvation,” “retribution,” “peace,” or “righteousness,” or “of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” or all the spiritual “Israel,” which has the vision of God. For since we are controlled by three conditions—fear of punishment, hope for salvation and glory too, and the practice of the virtues which results in these last—the name which mentions retribution deals with fear, the one which mentions salvation with hope, and that which refers to virtues disciplines us to practice them. The intention is that by, as it were, carrying God inside one, a person may have some success here and press on all the harder to perfection, toward that affinity with God which comes from the virtues.

On the Son, Theological Oration 4(30).19

14–15

(Verse 14, 15.) Listen and testify in the house of Jacob, says the Lord God of hosts, because on the day when I begin to visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and shall fall to the ground: and I will strike the winter house with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish: and many houses shall be destroyed, says the Lord. LXX: O priests, listen: testify in the house of Jacob, says the Lord God Almighty: because on the day when I will avenge the iniquities of Israel upon him, I will also avenge upon the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be undermined, and shall fall upon the ground. I will confuse and strike the house with wings over the summer house, and the ivory houses will perish, and many other houses will be added, says the Lord. What is written at the beginning of the chapter according to the Septuagint is not found in Hebrew, but instead the word Ares () is read for this, which Aquila interpreted as bed; and I think the Septuagint used this Hebrew word, which some who did not understand read as ἱερεῖς, that is, priests. But the prophetic word commands that they first listen, and then respond in the house of Jacob, that is, in the ten tribes that the Lord has spoken about. 'When I begin,' he says, 'to punish the transgressions or impieties of the house of Israel, and to give them what they deserve, and the time of captivity comes, then the altars of Bethel, where the golden calves were, will be destroyed, and the horns of the altar, which was also broken by Jeroboam's hand, will be cut off (3 Kings 13); and they will fall to the ground, shattered by the invading Assyrians.' And I will strike, he said, the winter house with the summer house, which we can simply understand literally: they had such great wealth that they had two houses, a winter house and a summer house, and some of them faced the North, while others faced the South, so that they could provide for the variations in weather, cold and heat, and the temperate climate. We can call the winter house the kingdom of Israel, where there was the cold of religion and worship of God, and the fierce storms of various winds; and the summer house, Judah and Jerusalem, where the temple was, and morning and evening burnt offerings were made, and the fervor of religion thrived. And they shall perish, he said, the ivory houses, which can also be supported by history. For we read that Ahab, king of Israel, indulged in such great delights that he made for himself an ivory house (3 Kings 22). Instead of ivory, we find the term 'tooth houses', that is, houses made of elephant tusks, in Hebrew. Concerning these, it is written in the forty-fourth psalm: From ivory houses: from which the daughters of kings have delighted you in your honor. When the Lord begins to visit the transgressions of Israel, who previously beheld God with their mind, he will also visit the altars of Bethel: not just one altar, as the Church has, but many altars of heretics. For as many altars as there are schisms, so many will the altars be stripped of their horns, which they boast of having through pride. And their horns will fall, that is, their arrogance, upon the earth; and it will strike the wintry house, those heretics who engage in continence and fasting, in dry diets and camel's hair garments, among whom are Tatianus and Manichaeus. And it will strike the summer house, that is, the Nicolaitans and Eunomians, and the followers of the old heresy, who, because of the gluttony of their bellies, indulge in every pleasure. And the ivory houses, which are composed of the skillful tooth and the splendor of rhetorical brilliance, will perish. And many buildings, which are dispersed throughout the whole world, will be scattered. For when one truth arises, many lies will be destroyed. Regarding the winter house, they have translated it as 'peripteros', which we have interpreted as 'winged', because it has small doors through the windows, and as if wings to repel the severity of the cold.

Commentary on Amos