Amos 1–2

Chapter 1

Judgment on Neighbor Nations

¹The words of Amos, who was among the ^asheepherders from ^bTekoa, which he ¹envisioned 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.

²He said,

“The ^aLord roars from Zion

And from Jerusalem He utters His voice;

And the shepherds’ ^bpasture grounds mourn,

And the ^1csummit of Carmel dries up.”

³Thus says the Lord,

“For ^athree transgressions of ^bDamascus and for four

I will not ¹revoke 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 exiled to ^bKir,”

Says the Lord.

⁶Thus says the Lord,

“For three transgressions of ^aGaza and for four

I will not revoke its punishment,

Because they deported an entire population

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 ¹unleash My ²power upon Ekron,

And the remnant of the ^cPhilistines will perish,”

Says the Lord ³God.

⁹Thus says the Lord,

“For three transgressions of ^aTyre and for four

I will not revoke its punishment,

Because they delivered up an entire population 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 the Lord,

“For three transgressions of ^aEdom and for four

I will not revoke its punishment,

Because he ^bpursued his brother with the sword,

While he ¹stifled his compassion;

His anger also ^ctore continually,

And he maintained his fury forever.

¹²“So I will send fire upon ^aTeman

And it will consume the citadels of Bozrah.”

¹³Thus says the Lord,

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

I will not revoke 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 ^1bwar cries on the day of battle,

And a ^cstorm on the day of tempest.

¹⁵“Their ^aking will go into exile,

He and his princes together,” says the Lord.

Chapter 2

Judgment on Judah and Israel

¹Thus says the Lord,

“For three transgressions of ^aMoab and for four

I will not ¹revoke 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 ^btumult,

With ¹war cries and the sound of a trumpet.

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

And slay all her ^bprinces with him,” says the Lord.

⁴Thus says the Lord,

“For three transgressions of ^aJudah and for four

I will not revoke its punishment,

Because they ^brejected the law of the Lord

And have not kept His statutes;

Their ^1clies also have led them astray,

Those after which their ^dfathers walked.

⁵“So I will ^asend fire upon Judah

And it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”

⁶Thus says the Lord,

“For three transgressions of ^aIsrael and for four

I will not revoke 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 ^ahelpless

Also ^bturn aside the way of the humble;

And a ^cman and his father ²resort to the same ³girl

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“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 young men to be ^bNazirites.

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

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“^1aFlight will perish from the swift,

And the stalwart will not strengthen his power,

Nor the ^bmighty man save his ²life.

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 save his ¹life.

¹⁶“Even the ¹bravest among the warriors will ^aflee naked in that day,” declares the Lord.