Amos 1–2

Chapter 1

¹The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. ²And he said, Jehovah roareth from Zion, and uttereth his voice from Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withereth.

³Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke my sentence, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron. ⁴And I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad. ⁵And I will break the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Beth-Eden; and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith Jehovah. ⁶Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Gazah, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom. ⁷And I will send a fire on the wall of Gazah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof. ⁸And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn my hand against Ekron; and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord Jehovah. ⁹Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant. ¹⁰And I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, and it shall devour the palaces thereof. ¹¹Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity; and his anger did tear continually, and he kept his wrath for ever. ¹²And I will send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the palaces of Bozrah. ¹³Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because they ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border. ¹⁴And I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind. ¹⁵And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith Jehovah.

Chapter 2

¹Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime. ²And I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerijoth; and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. ³And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith Jehovah. ⁴Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because they have despised the law of Jehovah, and have not kept his statutes; and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers walked. ⁵And I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem. ⁶Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke its sentence; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; ⁷panting after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turning aside the way of the meek; and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name. ⁸And they lay themselves down by every altar upon clothes taken in pledge, and they drink in the house of their God the wine of the condemned.

⁹But I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was as the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; but I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. ¹⁰And I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. ¹¹And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, ye children of Israel? saith Jehovah. ¹²And ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. ¹³Behold, I will press upon you, as a cart presseth that is full of sheaves. ¹⁴And flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver his soul. ¹⁵Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and the swift of foot shall not escape, and he that rideth the horse shall not deliver his soul; ¹⁶and he that is stout-hearted among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith Jehovah.