Hear this word against the whole family, &c. All that family of which Jacob, or Israel, was the head. The word family is equivalent to people here and in the following verse. You only have I known Acknowledged, by revealing myself to you, protecting you, and conferring on you peculiar privileges. Therefore will I punish you Your sins, therefore, shall be punished, and that in an exemplary manner; because you have sinned against greater light and higher obligations than other nations are or have been favoured with; and you have manifested an ungrateful, as well as a disobedient spirit. For the same reason the angel is commanded to begin his execution at the sanctuary, Ezekiel 9:6; and St. Peter observes, that judgment must begin at the house of God, 1 Peter 4:17: see also the margin.
Related Commentaries of Amos 3:1
Amos 3:1-2
1 Hear this word that the LORD hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,
2 You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punisha you for all your iniquities.