Amos 1:1–4:13
1 The words of Amos, who was among the asheepbreeders of bTekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of cUzziah king of Judah, and in the days of dJeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the eearthquake.
“The Lord froars from Zion,
And utters His voice from Jerusalem;
The pastures of the shepherds mourn,
And the top of gCarmel withers.”
3 Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of hDamascus, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they have ithreshed Gilead with implements of iron.
4 jBut I will send a fire into the house of Hazael,
Which shall devour the palaces of kBen-Hadad.
5 I will also break the gate lbar of Damascus,
And cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven,
And the one who 1holds the scepter from 2Beth Eden.
The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,”
Says the Lord.
“For three transgressions of mGaza, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they took captive the whole captivity
To deliver them up to Edom.
7 nBut I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza,
Which shall devour its palaces.
8 I will cut off the inhabitant ofrom Ashdod,
And the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;
I will pturn My hand against Ekron,
And qthe remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”
Says the Lord God.
“For three transgressions of rTyre, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom,
And did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
10 But I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre,
Which shall devour its palaces.”
“For three transgressions of sEdom, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because he pursued his tbrother with the sword,
And cast off all pity;
His anger tore perpetually,
And he kept his wrath forever.
12 But uI will send a fire upon Teman,
Which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.”
“For three transgressions of vthe people of Ammon, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead,
That they might enlarge their territory.
14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of wRabbah,
And it shall devour its palaces,
xAmid shouting in the day of battle,
And a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.
15 yTheir king shall go into captivity,
He and his princes together,”
Says the Lord.
a“For three transgressions of Moab, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because he bburned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
2 But I will send a fire upon Moab,
And it shall devour the palaces of cKerioth;
Moab shall die with tumult,
With shouting and trumpet sound.
3 And I will cut off dthe judge from its midst,
And slay all its princes with him,”
Says the Lord.
4 Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of eJudah, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
fBecause they have despised the law of the Lord,
And have not kept His commandments.
gTheir lies lead them astray,
Lies hwhich their fathers followed.
5 iBut I will send a fire upon Judah,
And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”
6 Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of jIsrael, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because kthey sell the righteous for silver,
And the lpoor for a pair of sandals.
7 They 1pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor,
And mpervert the way of the humble.
nA man and his father go in to the same girl,
oTo defile My holy name.
8 They lie down pby every altar on clothes qtaken in pledge,
And drink the wine of 2the condemned in the house of their god.
9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the rAmorite before them,
Whose height was like the sheight of the cedars,
And he was as strong as the oaks;
Yet I tdestroyed his fruit above
And his roots beneath.
10 Also it was uI who brought you up from the land of Egypt,
And vled you forty years through the wilderness,
To possess the land of the Amorite.
11 I raised up some of your sons as wprophets,
And some of your young men as xNazirites.
Is it not so, O you children of Israel?”
Says the Lord.
12 “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,
And commanded the prophets ysaying,
‘Do not prophesy!’
13 “Behold, zI am 3weighed down by you,
As a cart full of sheaves 4is weighed down.
14 aTherefore 5flight shall perish from the swift,
The strong shall not strengthen his power,
bNor shall the mighty 6deliver himself;
15 He shall not stand who handles the bow,
The swift of foot shall not 7escape,
Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.
16 The most 8courageous men of might
Shall flee naked in that day,”
Says the Lord.
Authority of the Prophet’s Message
3 Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:
2 “You aonly have I known of all the families of the earth;
bTherefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”
3 Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?
Will a young lion 1cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?
5 Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no 2trap for it?
Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all?
6 If a 3trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid?
cIf there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?
7 Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless dHe reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken!
eWho can but prophesy?
9 “Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod,4
And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say:
‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria;
See great tumults in her midst,
And the 5oppressed within her.
10 For they fdo not know to do right,’
Says the Lord,
‘Who store up violence and 6robbery in their palaces.’ ”
11 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
“An adversary shall be all around the land;
He shall sap your strength from you,
And your palaces shall be plundered.”
“As a shepherd 7takes from the mouth of a lion
Two legs or a piece of an ear,
So shall the children of Israel be taken out
Who dwell in Samaria—
In the corner of a bed and 8on the edge of a couch!
13 Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”
Says the Lord God, the God of hosts,
14 “That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions,
I will also visit destruction on the altars of gBethel;
And the horns of the altar shall be cut off
And fall to the ground.
15 I will 9destroy hthe winter house along with ithe summer house;
The jhouses of ivory shall perish,
And the great houses shall have an end,”
Says the Lord.
4 Hear this word, you acows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria,
Who oppress the bpoor,
Who crush the needy,
Who say to 1your husbands, “Bring wine, let us cdrink!”
2 dThe Lord God has sworn by His holiness:
“Behold, the days shall come upon you
When He will take you away ewith fishhooks,
And your posterity with fishhooks.
3 fYou will go out through broken walls,
Each one straight ahead of her,
And you will 2be cast into Harmon,”
Says the Lord.
4 “Come gto Bethel and transgress,
At hGilgal multiply transgression;
iBring your sacrifices every morning,
jYour tithes every three 3days.
5 kOffer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,
Proclaim and announce lthe freewill offerings;
For this you love,
You children of Israel!”
Says the Lord God.
Israel Did Not Accept Correction
6 “Also I gave you 4cleanness of teeth in all your cities.
And lack of bread in all your places;
mYet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.
7 “I also withheld rain from you,
When there were still three months to the harvest.
I made it rain on one city,
I withheld rain from another city.
One part was rained upon,
And where it did not rain the part withered.
8 So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water,
But they were not satisfied;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.
9 “I nblasted you with blight and mildew.
When your gardens increased,
Your vineyards,
Your fig trees,
And your olive trees,
oThe locust devoured them;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.
10 “I sent among you a plague pafter the manner of Egypt;
Your young men I killed with a sword,
Along with your captive horses;
I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.
As God overthrew qSodom and Gomorrah,
And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.
12 “Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel;
Because I will do this to you,
rPrepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
He who forms mountains,
And creates the 5wind,
sWho declares to man what 6his thought is,
And makes the morning darkness,
tWho treads the high places of the earth—
uThe Lord God of hosts is His name.