Albert Barnes Commentary Amos 3:4

"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?" — Amos 3:4 (ASV)

Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has 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 (see also 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 causes terror, for he sends 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 turn to repentance, and so to escape from all fear, by fleeing from their sins.

If the season is neglected, will you rescue the prey from the lion’s grasp, or yourself from the wrath of God?