Charles Ellicott 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)

Lion.— The questions suggest that the prey is being seized. This is intimated by the lion’s roar, the loud roar of the lion in the forest, and the growl of the famished young lions in the den. Aben-Ezra interprets it this way, but G. Baur thinks that Caphir distinguishes a “hunting lion” from the beast that growls in its lair . Amos, by his graphic representation of the terrifying threat, signifies that nations, and kingdoms, and this family of Israel are, at the present moment, trembling in the grasp of the great Avenger.