Amos 1–9

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.

Chapter 3

All the Tribes Are Guilty

¹Hear this word which the Lord has spoken against you, sons of Israel, against the entire ^1afamily which ²He brought up from the land of Egypt:

²“^aYou only have I ¹chosen among all the families of the earth;

Therefore I will ^2bpunish you for all your iniquities.”

³Do two men walk together unless they have made an ¹appointment?

⁴Does a ^alion roar in the forest when he has no prey?

Does a young lion ¹growl from his den unless he has captured something?

⁵Does a bird fall into a trap on the ground when there is no ¹bait in it?

Does a trap spring up from the earth when it captures nothing at all?

⁶If a ^atrumpet is blown in a city will not the people tremble?

If a ^bcalamity occurs in a city has not the Lord done it?

⁷¹Surely the Lord ²God does nothing

Unless He ^areveals His secret counsel

To His servants the prophets.

⁸A ^alion has roared! Who will not fear?

The ^bLord ¹God has spoken! ^cWho can but prophesy?

⁹Proclaim on the citadels in ^aAshdod and on the citadels in the land of Egypt and say, “Assemble yourselves on the ^bmountains of Samaria and see the great tumults within her and the ^coppressions in her midst.

¹⁰“But they ^ado not know how to do what is right,” declares the Lord, “these who ^bhoard up ¹violence and devastation in their citadels.”

¹¹Therefore, thus says the Lord God,

“An ^aenemy, even one surrounding the land,

Will pull down your ¹strength from you

And your ^bcitadels will be looted.”

¹²Thus says the Lord,

“Just as the shepherd ^1asnatches from the lion’s mouth a couple of legs or a piece of an ear,

So will the sons of Israel dwelling in Samaria be ²snatched away—

With the ^bcorner of a bed and the ^3ccover of a couch!

¹³“Hear and ^atestify against the house of Jacob,”

Declares the Lord God, the God of hosts.

¹⁴“For on the day that I punish Israel’s transgressions,

I will also punish the altars of ^aBethel;

The horns of the altar will be cut off

And they will fall to the ground.

¹⁵“I will also smite the ^1awinter house together with the ^bsummer house;

The houses of ^2civory will also perish

And the ^dgreat houses will come to an end,”

Declares the Lord.

Chapter 4

“Yet You Have Not Returned to Me”

¹Hear this word, you cows of ^aBashan who are on the ^bmountain of Samaria,

Who ^coppress the poor, who crush the needy,

Who say to ¹your husbands, “Bring now, that we may ^ddrink!”

²The Lord ¹God has ^asworn by His ^bholiness,

“Behold, the days are coming upon you

When ²they will take you away with ^cmeat hooks,

And the last of you with ^dfish hooks.

³“You will ^ago out through breaches in the walls,

Each one straight before her,

And you ¹will be cast to Harmon,” declares the Lord.

⁴“Enter Bethel and transgress;

In Gilgal multiply transgression!

^aBring your sacrifices every morning,

Your tithes every three days.

⁵“¹Offer a ^athank offering also from that which is leavened,

And proclaim ^bfreewill offerings, make them known.

For so you ^clove to do, you sons of Israel,”

Declares the Lord God.

⁶“But I gave you also ^acleanness of teeth in all your cities

And lack of bread in all your places,

Yet you have ^bnot returned to Me,” declares the Lord.

⁷“Furthermore, I ^awithheld the rain from you

While there were still three months until harvest.

Then I would send rain on one city

And on ^banother city I would not send rain;

One part would be rained on,

While the part not rained on would dry up.

⁸“So two or three cities would stagger to another city to drink ^awater,

But would ^bnot be satisfied;

Yet you have ^cnot returned to Me,” declares the Lord.

⁹“I ^asmote you with scorching wind and mildew;

And the ^bcaterpillar was devouring

Your many gardens and vineyards, fig trees and olive trees;

Yet you have ^cnot returned to Me,” declares the Lord.

¹⁰“I sent a ^aplague among you after the manner of Egypt;

I ^bslew your young men by the sword along with your ^ccaptured horses,

And I made the ^dstench of your camp rise up in your nostrils;

Yet you have ^enot returned to Me,” declares the Lord.

¹¹“I overthrew you, as ^aGod overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,

And you were like a ^bfirebrand snatched from a blaze;

Yet you have ^cnot returned to Me,” declares the Lord.

¹²“Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;

Because I will do this to you,

Prepare to ^ameet your God, O Israel.”

¹³For behold, He who ^aforms mountains and ^bcreates the wind

And ^cdeclares to man what are His thoughts,

He who ^dmakes dawn into darkness

And ^etreads on the high places of the earth,

^fThe Lord God of hosts is His name.

Chapter 5

“Seek Me that You May Live”

¹Hear this word which I take up for you as a ^adirge, O house of Israel:

²She has fallen, she will ^anot rise again—

The ^bvirgin Israel.

She lies neglected on her land;

There is ^cnone to raise her up.

³For thus says the Lord ¹God,

“The city which goes forth a thousand strong

Will have a ^ahundred left,

And the one which goes forth a hundred strong

Will have ^bten left to the house of Israel.”

⁴For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel,

“^aSeek Me ^bthat you may live.

⁵“But do not ¹resort to ^aBethel

And do not come to ^bGilgal,

Nor cross over to ^cBeersheba;

For Gilgal will certainly go into captivity

And Bethel will ²come to trouble.

⁶“^aSeek the Lord that you…