Amos 1–2

CHAPTER 1

Amos’ Vision of Yahweh’s Fire

¹The words of Amos, who was among the ^asheepherders from ^bTekoa, which he beheld in visions concerning Israel in the days of ^cUzziah king of Judah, and in the days of ^dJeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the ^eearthquake.

²And he said,

“^1aYahweh roars from Zion

And from Jerusalem He gives forth His voice;

And the shepherds’ ^bpasture grounds mourn,

And the ^2ctop of Carmel dries up.”

³Thus says Yahweh,

“For ^athree transgressions of ^bDamascus and for four

I will not turn back its punishment

Because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron.

⁴“So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael,

And it will consume the citadels of ^aBen-hadad.

⁵“I will also ^abreak the gate bar of Damascus

And cut off the inhabitant from the ¹valley of Aven

And him who holds the scepter from Beth-eden;

So the people of Aram will go into exile to ^bKir,”

Says Yahweh.

⁶Thus says Yahweh,

“For three transgressions of ^aGaza and for four

I will not turn back its punishment

Because they took away into exile the whole community of exiles

To ^bdeliver it up to Edom.

⁷“So I will send fire upon the wall of Gaza,

And it will consume her citadels.

⁸“I will also cut off the inhabitant from ^aAshdod

And him who holds the scepter from ^bAshkelon;

I will even turn My hand against Ekron,

And the remnant of the ^cPhilistines will perish,”

Says Lord Yahweh.

⁹Thus says Yahweh,

“For three transgressions of ^aTyre and for four

I will not turn back its punishment

Because they delivered up the whole community of exiles to Edom

And did not remember the covenant of ^1bbrotherhood.

¹⁰“So I will ^asend fire upon the wall of Tyre,

And it will consume her citadels.”

¹¹Thus says Yahweh,

“For three transgressions of ^aEdom and for four

I will not turn back its punishment

Because he ^bpursued his brother with the sword

While he corrupted his compassion;

And his anger also ^ctore continually,

And he kept his wrath forever.

¹²“So I will send fire upon ^aTeman,

And it will consume the citadels of Bozrah.”

¹³Thus says Yahweh,

“For three transgressions of the sons of ^aAmmon and for four

I will not turn back its punishment

Because they ^bripped open the pregnant women of Gilead

In order to ^cenlarge their borders.

¹⁴“So I will kindle a fire on the wall of ^aRabbah,

And it will consume her citadels

Amid a ^bloud shout on the day of battle

And a ^cstorm on the day of tempest.

¹⁵“And their ^aking will go into exile,

He and his princes together,”

Says Yahweh.

CHAPTER 2

¹Thus says Yahweh,

“For three transgressions of ^aMoab and for four

I will not turn back its punishment

Because he ^bburned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.

²“So I will send fire upon Moab,

And it will consume the citadels of ^aKerioth;

And Moab will die amid great ^brumbling,

Amid a loud shout and the sound of a trumpet.

³“I will also cut off the ^1ajudge from her midst

And kill all her ^bprinces with him,” says Yahweh.

Punishment of Judah and Israel

⁴Thus says Yahweh,

“For three transgressions of ^aJudah and for four

I will not turn back its punishment

Because they ^brejected the law of Yahweh

And have not kept His statutes;

Their ^1cfalsehood also has led them astray,

That which their ^dfathers walked after.

⁵“So I will ^asend fire upon Judah,

And it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”

⁶Thus says Yahweh,

“For three transgressions of ^aIsrael and for four

I will not turn back its punishment

Because they ^bsell the righteous for money

And the needy for a pair of sandals.

⁷“These who ¹pant after the very dust of the earth on the head of the ^apoor

Also ^bturn aside the way of the humble;

And a ^cman and his father go to the same ²young woman

In order to profane My holy name.

⁸“On garments ^ataken as pledges they stretch out beside ^bevery altar,

And in the house of their God they ^cdrink the wine of those who have been fined.

⁹“Yet it was I who destroyed the ^aAmorite before them,

¹Though his ^bheight was like the height of cedars,

And he was strong as the oaks;

I even destroyed his ^cfruit above and his root below.

¹⁰“And it was I who ^abrought you up from the land of Egypt,

And I led you in the wilderness ^bforty years

¹That you might take possession of the land of the ^cAmorite.

¹¹“Then I ^araised up some of your sons to be prophets

And some of your choice men to be ^bNazirites.

Is this not so, O sons of Israel?” declares Yahweh.

¹²“But you made the Nazirites drink wine,

And you commanded the prophets saying, ‘You ^ashall not prophesy!’

¹³“Behold, I am ^1aweighted down beneath you

As a wagon ²is weighted down when filled with sheaves.

¹⁴“^aSo ¹flight will perish from the swift,

And the strong will not instill his power with courage,

Nor will the ^bmighty man make his ²life escape.

¹⁵“He who ^agrasps the bow will not stand his ground,

The swift of foot will not escape,

Nor will he who rides the ^bhorse make his ¹life escape.

¹⁶“Even the ¹most courageous of heart among the mighty men will ^aflee naked in that day,” declares Yahweh.