Amos 1–2

1The words of Amos, who was one of the sheep breeders ^abfrom Tekoa ^c—what he saw regarding Israel in the days of Uzziah, ^dking of Judah, and Jeroboam ^eson of Jehoash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. ^f

²He said:

The Lord roars ^gfrom Zion

and raises His voice from Jerusalem;

the pastures of the shepherds mourn, ^hi

and the summit of Carmel ^jwithers.

Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

³The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Damascus ^k

for three crimes, even four, ^l

because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges.

⁴Therefore, I will send fire against Hazael’s palace,

and it will consume Ben-hadad’s ^mcitadels.

⁵I will break down the gates ^noof 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. ^p

The Lord has spoken.

⁶The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Gaza ^q

for three crimes, even four,

because they exiled a whole community,

handing them over to Edom.

⁷Therefore, I will send fire against the walls of Gaza,

and it will consume its citadels.

⁸I will cut off the ruler from Ashdod, ^r

and the one who wields the scepter from Ashkelon. ^s

I will also turn My hand against Ekron,

and the remainder of the Philistines ^twill perish.

The Lord God has spoken.

⁹The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Tyre ^u

for three crimes, even four,

because they handed over

a whole community of exiles to Edom

and broke ^va treaty of brotherhood. ^w

¹⁰Therefore, I will send fire ^xagainst the walls of Tyre,

and it will consume its citadels.

¹¹The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Edom ^y

for three crimes, even four,

because he pursued his brother with the sword. ^z

He stifled his compassion,

his anger tore at them ^acontinually,

and he harbored his rage incessantly.

¹²Therefore, I will send fire against Teman, ^b

and it will consume the citadels of Bozrah.

¹³The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing the Ammonites ^c

for three crimes, even four,

because they ripped open

the pregnant women of Gilead ^d

in order to enlarge their territory. ^e

¹⁴Therefore, I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah, ^f

and it will consume its citadels.

There will be shouting on the day of battle ^g

and a violent wind on the day of the storm. ^h

¹⁵Their king and his princes

will go into exile together. ⁱ

The Lord has spoken.

2The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Moab ^j

for three crimes, even four,

because he burned the bones

of the king of Edom to lime. ^k

²Therefore, I will send fire against Moab,

and it will consume the citadels of Kerioth. ^l

Moab will die with a tumult, ^m

with shouting and the sound of the ram’s horn.

³I will cut off the judge ⁿfrom the land

and kill all its officials ^owith him.

The Lord has spoken.

Judgment on Judah

⁴The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Judah ^p

for three crimes, even four,

because they have rejected the instruction of the Lord ^q

and have not kept His statutes. ^r

The lies ^sthat their ancestors followed ^t

have led them astray.

⁵Therefore, I will send fire ^uagainst Judah,

and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.

Judgment on Israel

⁶The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Israel ^v

for three crimes, even four,

because they sell a righteous person for silver

and a needy person for a pair of sandals. ^w

⁷They trample the heads of the poor ^x

on the dust of the ground

and block the path of the needy. ^y

A man and his father have sexual relations

with the same girl, ^z

profaning My holy name. ^a

⁸They stretch out beside every altar ^b

on garments taken as collateral, ^c

and in the house of their God,

they drink wine obtained through fines. ^d

⁹Yet I destroyed the Amorite ^eas Israel advanced;

his height ^fwas like the cedars,

and he was as sturdy as the oaks;

I destroyed his fruit ^gabove and his roots beneath.

¹⁰And I brought you from the land of Egypt ^h

and led you 40 years in the wilderness ⁱ

in order to possess the land of the Amorite. ^j

¹¹I raised up some of your sons as prophets ^k

and some of your young men as Nazirites. ^l

Is this not the case, Israelites?

This is the Lord’s declaration.

¹²But you made the Nazirites drink wine

and commanded the prophets,

“Do not prophesy.” ^m

¹³Look, I am about to crush ⁿyou in your place ^o

as a wagon full of sheaves crushes grain.

¹⁴Escape will fail the swift, ^p

the strong one will not prevail by his strength, ^q

and the brave will not save his life.

¹⁵The archer will not stand his ground, ^r

the one who is swift of foot

will not save himself,

and the one riding a horse will not save his life. ^s

¹⁶Even the most courageous of the warriors

will flee naked on that day ^t—

this is the Lord’s declaration.