The Aramaic Bible · the Prophets
Targum Jonathan on the Prophets Amos · chapter 3
Aramaic public domain · English where it exists, else the Bible (BSB)What is the Aramaic Bible?
After the exile, most Jews spoke Aramaic, not Hebrew, so in the synagogue each Scripture reading was followed by an Aramaic translation read aloud, so ordinary people could follow. Those translations are the Aramaic Bible. Scholars call them the Targums.
Why it’s worth reading: a Targum doesn’t just translate, it quietly explains as it goes. So it’s a window into how the first Jewish readers actually understood a passage. Famously, the Aramaic of Isaiah 53 names the servant “the Messiah” outright.
Tap any Aramaic word to trace it to its Jastrow dictionary entry.
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Hear this word that the LORD has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:
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“Only you have I known from all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
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Can two walk together without agreeing where to go?
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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?
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Does a bird land in a snare where no bait has been set? Does a trap spring from the ground when it has nothing to catch?
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If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
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Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.
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The lion has roared — who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken — who will not prophesy?
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Proclaim to the citadels of Ashdod and to the citadels of Egypt: “Assemble on the mountains of Samaria; see the great unrest in the city and the acts of oppression in her midst.”
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“For they know not how to do right,” declares the LORD. “They store up violence and destruction in their citadels.”
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Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “An enemy will surround the land; he will pull down your strongholds and plunder your citadels.”
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This is what the LORD says: “As the shepherd snatches from the mouth of the lion two legs or a piece of an ear, so the Israelites dwelling in Samaria will be rescued having just the corner of a bed or the cushion of a couch.
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Hear and testify against the house of Jacob, declares the Lord GOD, the God of Hosts.
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On the day I punish Israel for their transgressions, I will visit destruction on the altars of Bethel; the horns of the altar will be cut off, and they will fall to the ground.
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I will tear down the winter house along with the summer house; the houses of ivory will also perish, and the great houses will come to an end,” declares the LORD.
Aramaic. Targum Jonathan to the Prophets, Aramaic: 'Mikraot Gedolot' (public domain), served by the Sefaria v3 API (sefaria.org)
English. The Masoretic verse (Berean Standard Bible, public domain), shown for reference, Targum Jonathan is the ancient Aramaic rendering of this verse.
We show the license-cleared original Aramaic and an established English translation, each Aramaic word traceable to a public-domain lexicon. We never machine-translate a primary text.