Amos
1 The words of Amos, who was one of the sheep breedersA,a from Tekoab—what he saw regarding Israel in the days of King Uzziahc of Judah and Jeroboamd son of Jehoash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.e
The Lord roarsf from Zion
and makes his voice heard from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds mourn,B,g
and the summit of Carmelh withers.
JUDGMENT ON ISRAEL’S NEIGHBORS
3 The Lord says:
I will not relent from punishing Damascusi
for three crimes, even four,j
because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges.
4 Therefore, I will send fire against Hazael’s palace,
and it will consume Ben-hadad’sk citadels.
5 I will break down the gatesC,l of Damascus.
I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven,
and the one who wields the scepter from Beth-eden.
The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir.m
The Lord has spoken.
I will not relent from punishing Gazan
for three crimes, even four,
because they exiled a whole community,
handing them over to Edom.
7 Therefore, I will send fire against the walls of Gaza,
and it will consume its citadels.
8 I will cut off the ruler from Ashdod,o
and the one who wields the scepter from Ashkelon.p
I will also turn my hand against Ekron,
and the remainder of the Philistinesq will perish.
The Lord God has spoken.
I will not relent from punishing Tyrer
for three crimes, even four,
because they handed over
a whole community of exiles to Edom
and brokeD a treaty of brotherhood.s
10 Therefore, I will send firet against the walls of Tyre,
and it will consume its citadels.
I will not relent from punishing Edomu
for three crimes, even four,
because he pursued his brother with the sword.v
He stifled his compassion,
his anger tore at himw continually,
and he harbored his rage incessantly.
12 Therefore, I will send fire against Teman,x
and it will consume the citadels of Bozrah.
I will not relent from punishing the Ammonitesy
for three crimes, even four,
because they ripped open
the pregnant women of Gileadz
in order to enlarge their territory.aa
14 Therefore, I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah,ab
and it will consume its citadels.
There will be shouting on the day of battleac
and a violent wind on the day of the storm.ad
will go into exile together.ae
The Lord has spoken.
I will not relent from punishing Moaba
for three crimes, even four,
because he burned the bones
of the king of Edom to lime.b
2 Therefore, I will send fire against Moab,
and it will consume the citadels of Kerioth.c
Moab will die with a tumult,d
with shouting and the sound of the trumpet.
3 I will cut off the judgee from the land
and kill all its officialsf with him.
The Lord has spoken.
4 The Lord says:
I will not relent from punishing Judahg
for three crimes, even four,
because they have rejected the instruction of the Lordh
and have not kept his statutes.i
The liesj that their ancestors followedk
have led them astray.
5 Therefore, I will send firel against Judah,
and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.
6 The Lord says:
I will not relent from punishing Israelm
for three crimes, even four,
because they sell a righteous person for silver
and a needy person for a pair of sandals.n
7 They trample the heads of the pooro
on the dust of the ground
and obstruct the path of the needy.p
A man and his father have sexual relations
with the same girl,q
profaning my holy name.r
8 They stretch out beside every altars
on garments taken as collateral,t
and in the house of their God
they drink wine obtained through fines.u
9 Yet I destroyed the Amoritev as Israel advanced;
his heightw was like the cedars,
and he was as sturdy as the oaks;
I destroyed his fruitx above and his roots beneath.
10 And I brought you from the land of Egypty
and led you forty years in the wildernessz
in order to possess the land of the Amorite.aa
11 I raised up some of your sons as prophetsab
and some of your young men as Nazirites.ac
Is this not the case, Israelites?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
12 But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets,
“Do not prophesy.”ad
13 Look, I am about to crushA you in your placeae
as a wagon crushes when full of grain.
14 Escape will fail the swift,af
the strong one will not maintain his strength,ag
and the warrior will not save his life.
15 The archer will not stand his ground,ah
the one who is swift of foot
will not save himself,
and the one riding a horse will not save his life.ai
16 Even the most courageous of the warriors
will flee naked on that dayaj—
this is the Lord’s declaration.
GOD’S REASONS FOR PUNISHING ISRAEL
3 Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, Israelites, against the entire clan that I brought from the land of Egypt:ak
2 I have known only youal
out of all the clans of the earth;
therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.am
3 Can two walk togetheran
without agreeing to meet?
4 Does a lion roarao in the forest
when it has no prey?
Does a young lion growl from its lair
unless it has captured something?
5 Does a bird land in a trap on the ground
Does a trap spring from the ground
when it has caught nothing?
6 If a trumpeta is blown in a city,
aren’t people afraid?b
If a disasterc occurs in a city,
hasn’t the Lord done it?d
7 Indeed, the Lord God does nothing
without revealing his counsel
to his servants the prophets.e
8 A lion has roared;f
who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;g
who will not prophesy?h
9 Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdodi
and on the citadels in the land of Egypt:
Assemble on the mountains of Samaria,j
and see the great turmoil in the city
and the acts of oppression within it.k
10 The people are incapable of doing rightl—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
those who store up violence and destructionm
in their citadels.
11 Therefore, the Lord God says:
An enemyn will surround the land;
he will destroyo your strongholds
and plunder your citadels.p
As the shepherd snatches two legs
or a piece of an ear
from the lion’s mouth,q
so the Israelites who live in Samaria
will be rescued
with only the corner of a bedr
or theA cushionB of a couch.C,s
13 Listen and testifyt against the house of Jacob—
this is the declaration of the Lord God,
the God of Armies.
14 I will punish the altars of Bethelu
on the day I punish Israel for its crimes;
the horns of the altarv will be cut off
and fall to the ground.w
15 I will demolish the winter housex
and the summer house;y
the houses inlaid with ivoryz will be destroyed,
and the great housesaa will come to an end.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
SOCIAL AND SPIRITUAL CORRUPTION
4 Listen to this message, you cows of Bashanab
who are on the hill of Samaria,
women who oppress the poor
and crush the needy,ac
who say to their husbands,
“Bring us something to drink.”ad
2 The Lord God has swornae by his holiness:af
Look, the days are comingD
when you will be taken away with hooks,ag
every last one of you with fishhooks.ah
3 You will go through breaches in the wall,ai
each woman straight ahead,
and you will be driven along toward Harmon.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
rebel even more at Gilgal!aj
Bring your sacrifices every morning,ak
your tenths every three days.
5 Offer leavened bread as a thanksgiving sacrifice,al
and loudly proclaim your freewill offerings,am
for that is what you Israelites love to do!an
This is the declaration of the Lord God.
GOD’S DISCIPLINE AND ISRAEL’S APOSTASY
6 I gave you absolutely nothing to eatE,ao
in all your cities,
a shortage of food in all your communities,
yet you did not return to me.ap
This is the Lord’s declaration.
7 I also withheld the rain from youaq
while there were still three months until harvest.
I sent rain on one city
but no rain on another.ar
while a field with no rain withered.a
8 Two or three cities staggered
to another city to drink waterb
but were not satisfied,c
yet you did not returnd to me.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
9 I struck you with blight and mildew;e
the locust devouredf
your many gardens and vineyards,
your fig trees and olive trees,g
yet you did not return to me.h
This is the Lord’s declaration.
10 I sent plagues like those of Egypt;i
I killed your young men with the sword,j
along with your captured horses.k
I caused the stench of your camp
to fill your nostrils,l
yet you did not return to me.m
This is the Lord’s declaration.
as IA overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,n
and you were like a burning stick
snatched from a fire,o
yet you did not return to mep—
This is the Lord’s declaration.
12 Therefore, Israel, that is what I will do to you,
and since I will do that to you,
Israel, prepare to meet your God!q
the one who forms the mountains,r
creates the wind,s
and reveals his thoughts to man,t
the one who makes the dawn out of darkness
and strides on the heights of the earth.u
The Lord, the God of Armies, is his name.v
5 Listen to this message that I am singing for you, a lament,w house of Israel:
Virgin Israelx will never rise again.y
She lies abandoned on her land
with no one to raise her up.z
The city that marches out a thousand strong
will have only a hundred left,aa
and the one that marches out a hundred strong
will have only ten leftab in the house of Israel.
4 For the Lord says to the house of Israel:
Seek me and live!ac
5 Do not seek Bethelad
or go to Gilgalae
or journey to Beer-sheba,af
for Gilgal will certainly go into exile,
and Bethel will come to nothing.
6 Seek the Lordag and live,
or he will spread like fireah
throughout the house of Joseph;
it will consume everything
with no one at Bethel to extinguish it.ai
7 Those who turn justice into wormwoodaj
also throw righteousness to the ground.
8 The one who made the Pleiades and Orion,ak
who turns darknessB into