Amos 1–9

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.

God’s Reasons for Punishing Israel

3Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, Israelites, against the entire clan that I brought from the land of Egypt: ^u

²I have known only you ^v

out of all the clans of the earth;

therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities. ^w

³Can two walk together ^x

without agreeing to meet? ^y

⁴Does a lion roar ^zin the forest

when it has no prey?

Does a young lion growl from its lair

unless it has captured something?

⁵Does a bird land in a trap on the ground

if there is no bait for it?

Does a trap spring from the ground

when it has caught nothing?

⁶If a ram’s horn ^ais blown in a city,

aren’t people afraid? ^b

If a disaster ^coccurs in a city,

hasn’t the Lord done it? ^d

⁷Indeed, the Lord God does nothing

without revealing His counsel

to His servants the prophets. ^e

⁸A lion has roared; ^f

who will not fear?

The Lord God has spoken; ^g

who will not prophesy? ^h

⁹Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod ⁱ

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

¹⁰The people are incapable of doing right ^l—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

those who store up violence and destruction ^m

in their citadels.

¹¹Therefore, the Lord God says:

An enemy ⁿwill surround the land;

he will destroy ^oyour strongholds

and plunder your citadels. ^p

¹²The Lord says:

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 bed ^r

or the ^scushion ^tof a couch. ^uv

¹³Listen and testify ^wagainst the house of Jacob—

this is the declaration of the Lord God,

the God of Hosts.

¹⁴I will punish the altars of Bethel ^x

on the day I punish Israel for its crimes;

the horns of the altar ^ywill be cut off

and fall to the ground. ^z

¹⁵I will demolish the winter house ^a

and the summer house; ^b

the houses inlaid with ivory ^cwill be destroyed,

and the great houses ^dwill come to an end.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Social and Spiritual Corruption

4Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan ^e

who are on the hill of Samaria,

women who oppress the poor

and crush the needy, ^f

who say to their husbands,

“Bring us something to drink.” ^g

²The Lord God has sworn ^hby His holiness: ⁱ

Look, the days are coming ^j

when you will be taken away with hooks, ^k

every last one of you with fishhooks. ^l

³You will go through breaches in the wall, ^m

each woman straight ahead,

and you will be driven along toward Harmon.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

⁴Come to Bethel and rebel;

rebel even more at Gilgal! ⁿ

Bring your sacrifices every morning, ^o

your tenths every three days.

⁵Offer leavened bread as a thank offering, ^p

and loudly proclaim your freewill offerings, ^q

for that is what you Israelites love to do! ^r

This is the Lord’s declaration.

God’s Discipline and Israel’s Apostasy

⁶I gave you absolutely nothing to eat ^st

in all your cities,

a shortage of food in all your communities,

yet you did not return to Me. ^u

This is the Lord’s declaration.

⁷I also withheld the rain from you ^v

while there were still three months until harvest.

I sent rain on one city

but no rain on another. ^w

One field received rain

while a field with no rain withered. ^x

⁸Two or three cities staggered

to another city to drink water ^y

but were not satisfied, ^z

yet you did not return ^ato Me.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

⁹I struck you with blight and mildew; ^b

the locust devoured ^c

your many gardens and vineyards,

your fig trees and olive trees, ^d

yet you did not return to Me. ^e

This is the Lord’s declaration.

¹⁰I sent plagues like those of Egypt; ^f

I killed your young men with the sword, ^g

along with your captured horses. ^h

I caused the stench of your camp

to fill your nostrils, ⁱ

yet you did not return to Me. ^j

This is the Lord’s declaration.

¹¹I overthrew some of you

as I ^koverthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, ^l

and you were like a burning stick

snatched from a fire, ^m

yet you did not return to Me ⁿ—

this is the Lord’s declaration.

¹²Therefore, Israel, that is what I will do to you,

and since I will do that to you,

Israel, prepare to meet your God! ^o

¹³He is here:

the One who forms the mountains, ^p

creates the wind, ^q

and reveals His ^rthoughts to man, ^s

the One who makes the dawn out of darkness

and strides on the heights of the earth. ^t

Yahweh, the God of Hosts, is His name. ^u

Lamentation for Israel

5Listen to this message that I am singing for you, a lament, ^vhouse of Israel:

²She has fallen;

Virgin Israel ^wwill never rise again. ^x

She lies abandoned on her land,

with no one to raise her up. ^y

³For the Lord God says:

The city that marches out a thousand strong

will have only a hundred left, ^z

and the one that marches out a hundred strong

will have only ten left ^ain the house of Israel.

Seek God and Live

⁴For the Lord says to the house of Israel:

Seek Me and live! ^b

⁵Do not seek Bethel ^c

or go to Gilgal ^d

or journey to Beer-sheba, ^e

for Gilgal will certainly go into exile,

and Bethel will come to nothing.

⁶Seek Yahweh ^fand live,

or He will spread like fire ^g

throughout the house of Joseph;

it will consume everything,

with no one at Bethel to extinguish it. ^h

⁷Those who turn justice into wormwood ⁱ

throw righteousness to the ground.

⁸The One who made the Pleiades and Orion, ^j

who turns darkness ^kinto dawn ^l

and darkens day into night, ^m

who summons the waters of the sea ⁿ

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