Amos 3:4

The NET Bible®

Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey? Does a young lion bellow from his den if he has not caught something?

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Does a lion roar in the forestwhen it has no prey?Does a young lion growl from its lairunless it has captured something?

Hebrew Names Version
Will a lion roar in the thicket, When he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out of his den, If he has caught nothing?

King James Version
Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?

English Standard Version
Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing?

New American Standard Bible
Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl from his den unless he has captured something?

New Century Version
A lion in the forest does not roar unless it has caught an animal; it does not growl in its den when it has caught nothing.

Amplified Bible
Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl from his den if he has not captured something?

Geneva Bible (1587)
Will a lion roare in ye forest, when he hath no pray? or wil a lions whelpe cry out of his den, if he haue taken nothing?

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl from his den unless he has captured something?

Legacy Standard Bible
Does a lion roar in the forest when it has no prey?Does a young lion give forth its voice from its den unless it has captured something?

Berean Standard Bible
Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a young lion growl in his den if he has caught nothing?

Contemporary English Version
Does a lion roar in the forest unless it has caught a victim? Does it growl in its den unless it is eating?

Complete Jewish Bible
Does a lion roar in the forest when it has no prey? Does a young lion growl in his lair if it has caught nothing?

Darby Translation
Will a lion roar in the forest when he hath no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den if he have taken nothing?

Easy-to-Read Version
A lion will roar in the forest only if it catches its prey. A young lion roaring in his cave means he has caught something to eat.

George Lamsa Translation
Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Or does a lion cry out of his den if he has taken no prey?

Good News Translation
Does a lion roar in the forest unless he has found a victim? Does a young lion growl in his den unless he has caught something?

Lexham English Bible
Does a lion roar in the forest when he has no prey? Does a fierce, young lion cry out from his den unless he has caught something?

Literal Translation
Will a lion roar in the forest when there is no prey for him? Will a young lion cry out of his den except he has caught something ?

American Standard Version
Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?

Bible in Basic English
Will a lion give his loud cry in the woodland when no food is there? will the voice of the young lion be sounding from his hole if he has taken nothing?

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? Will a young lion give forth his voice out of his den, if he have taken nothing?

King James Version (1611)
Will a lyon roare in the forrest, when he hath no pray? will a young lyon cry out of his den, if he haue taken nothing?

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Wyll a lion roare in the forest when he hath no pray? or wil a lions whelpe crye out of his denne, if he haue taken nothing?

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Will a lion roar out of his thicket if he has no prey? will a lion’s whelp utter his voice at all out of his lair, if he have taken nothing?

English Revised Version
Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?

World English Bible
Will a lion roar in the thicket, When he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out of his den, If he has caught nothing?

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Whether a lioun schal rore in a forest, no but he haue prey? Whether the whelp of a lioun schal yyue vois fro his denne, no but he take ony thing?

Update Bible Version
Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has taken nothing?

Webster's Bible Translation
Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he hath taken nothing?

New King James Version
Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Will a young lion cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?

New Living Translation
Does a lion ever roar in a thicket without first finding a victim? Does a young lion growl in its den without first catching its prey?

New Life Bible
Does a lion make noise among the trees when he has no food? Does a young lion cry out from his home if he has not caught anything?

New Revised Standard
Does a lion roar in the forest, when it has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from its den, if it has caught nothing?

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Will a lion roar in the forest, when, prey, he hath none? Will a young lion utter his voice out of his den, when he hath made no capture?

Douay-Rheims Bible
Will a lion roar in the forest, if he have no prey? will the lion’s whelp cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?

Revised Standard Version
Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing?

Young's Literal Translation
Roar doth a lion in a forest and prey he hath none? Give out doth a young lion his voice from his habitation, If he hath not caught?

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Doth a lyon roare in the wodde, excepte he haue a pray? Or crieth a lyons whelpe out of his denne, excepte he haue gotten somthige?

Contextual Overview

¹ Listen, you Israelites, to this message which the Lord is proclaiming against you! This message is for the entire clan I brought up from the land of Egypt: ² "I have chosen you alone from all the clans of the earth. Therefore I will punish you for all your sins." ³ Do two walk together without having met? ⁴ Does a lion roar in the woods if he has not cornered his prey? Does a young lion bellow from his den if he has not caught something? ⁵ Does a bird swoop down into a trap on the ground if there is no bait? Does a trap spring up from the ground unless it has surely caught something? ⁶ If an alarm sounds in a city, do people not fear? If disaster overtakes a city, is the Lord not responsible? ⁷ Certainly the sovereign Lord does nothing without first revealing his plan to his servants the prophets. ⁸ A lion has roared! Who is not afraid? The sovereign Lord has spoken! Who can refuse to prophesy?

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

a lion: Amos 3:8, Amos 1:2, Psalms 104:21, Hosea 11:10

cry: Heb. give forth his voice

Reciprocal: Psalms 10:9 - secretly Jeremiah 2:15 - young lions Hosea 5:14 - as a lion Hosea 13:7 - General 1 Peter 5:8 - as

Cross-References

Genesis 3:13
So the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?" And the woman replied, "The serpent tricked me, and I ate."

Deuteronomy 29:19
When such a person hears the words of this oath he secretly blesses himself and says, "I will have peace though I continue to walk with a stubborn spirit." This will destroy the watered ground with the parched.

2 Kings 1:4
Therefore this is what the Lord says, "You will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die!"'" So Elijah went on his way.

2 Kings 1:6
They replied, "A man came up to meet us. He told us, "Go back to the king who sent you and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: "You must think there is no God in Israel! That explains why you are sending for an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die."'"

2 Kings 1:16
Elijah said to the king, "This is what the Lord says, ‘You sent messengers to seek an oracle from Baal Zebub, the god of Ekron. You must think there is no God in Israel from whom you can seek an oracle! Therefore you will not leave the bed you lie on, for you will certainly die.'"

2 Kings 8:10
Elisha said to him, "Go and tell him, ‘You will surely recover,' but the Lord has revealed to me that he will surely die."

Psalms 10:11
He says to himself, "God overlooks it; he does not pay attention; he never notices."

2 Corinthians 2:11
so that we may not be exploited by Satan (for we are not ignorant of his schemes).

2 Corinthians 11:3
But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

1 Timothy 2:14
And Adam was not deceived, but the woman, because she was fully deceived, fell into transgression.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Will a lion roar in the forest when he hath no prey?.... He will not, unless he has it in his sight, or in his paws; he roars when he first sees it, whereby he terrifies the creature, that it cannot move till he comes up to it; and when he has got it in his paws, he roars over it, to invite others to partake with him. Now prophecy from the Lord is compared to the roaring of a lion, Amos 1:2; and this is never in a way of judgment without a cause; the sin of men, or of a nation, which makes them a prey to the wrath and fury of God;

will a young lion cry, or "give forth his voice";

out of his den, if he have taken nothing? that is, if the old lion has taken nothing, and brought nothing unto him; which signifies the same as before; unless by the young lion is meant the prophets of the Lord, who never prophesy but when they have a commission from him, and a people are pointed out to them as the just prey of his wrath and vengeance. All the images here used are very natural; the lion is for the most part in woods and forests, hence called the "lion out of the forest", Jeremiah 5:6; as he is by Theocritus d; where his voice is heard, but not unless he is in sight of his prey, or has got it, even though ever so hungry; but when he has it in view, he roars so terribly, that, as Basil e observes, many animals that could escape him through their swiftness, yet are so frightened at his roaring, that they have no power to move; and they have their dens either in caves or in thickets, where are the she lioness and the young lions, to whom the prey is brought; see Nahum 2:11.

d εκ δρυμοιο λεων, Theocrit. Idyll. 1. e In Hexaemeron, Homil. 9.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? - Then, further, each question by itself suggests its own thought. Amos had already, in repeating Joel’s words, spoken of God’s Voice, under the image of a lion roaring (Amos 1:2; Hosea 11:10 (add Hosea 5:14; Hosea 6:1; Hosea 13:7); Jeremiah 25:30). Hosea had likened Israel to “a silly dove without heat Hosea 7:11; on the other hand, he had likened God’s loud call to repentance to the roaring of the lion, the conversion of Israel to the return of the dove to its home Hosea 11:10-11. As the roaring of the lion causeth terror, for he sendeth forth his terrible roar when he is about to spring on his prey , so God threatens by His prophets, only when He is about to punish. Yet the lion’s roar is a warning to escape. God’s threatening is a warning to betake them to repentance, and so to escape from all fear, by fleeing from their sins. If the season is neglected, wilt thou rescue the prey from the lion’s grasp, or thyself from the wrath of God?

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Amos 3:4. Will a lion roar — Should I threaten such a judgment without cause?