1These are the words of Amos. He was a shepherd from the town of Tekoa. Here is the vision he saw concerning Israel. It came to him two years before the earthquake. At that time Uzziah was king of Judah. Jeroboam was king of Israel. He was the son of Jehoash. Here are the words of Amos.

²I said,

“The Lord roars like a lion from Jerusalem.

His voice sounds like thunder from Zion.

The grasslands of the shepherds turn brown.

The top of Mount Carmel dries up.”

The Lord Punishes Israel’s Neighbors

³The Lord says,

“The people of Damascus have sinned again and again.

So I will punish them.

They used threshing sleds with iron teeth

to crush Gilead’s people.

⁴So I will send fire to destroy the palace of King Hazael.

It will burn up the forts of his son Ben-Hadad.

⁵I will break down the city gate of Damascus.

I will cut off the king

who lives in the Valley of Aven.

He holds the ruler’s rod in Beth Eden.

The people of Aram will be taken away to Kir as prisoners,”

says the Lord.

⁶The Lord says,

“The people of Gaza have sinned again and again.

So I will punish them.

They captured whole communities.

They sold them to Edom.

⁷So I will send fire to destroy the walls of Gaza.

It will burn up its forts.

⁸I will cut off the king of Ashdod.

He holds the ruler’s rod in Ashkelon.

I will use my powerful hand against Ekron.

Every single Philistine will die,”

says the Lord and King.

⁹The Lord says,

“The people of Tyre have sinned again and again.

So I will punish them.

They captured whole communities.

They sold them to Edom.

They did not honor the treaty

of friendship they had made.

¹⁰So I will send fire to destroy the walls of Tyre.

It will burn up its forts.”

¹¹The Lord says,

“The people of Edom have sinned again and again.

So I will punish them.

They chased Israel with swords

that were ready to strike them down.

They did not show them any pity.

They were angry all the time.

Their anger blazed out.

It could not be stopped.

¹²So I will send fire to destroy the city of Teman.

It will burn up Bozrah’s forts.”

¹³The Lord says,

“The people of Ammon have sinned again and again.

So I will punish them.

They ripped open the pregnant women in Gilead.

They wanted to add land to their territory.

¹⁴So I will set fire to destroy the walls of Rabbah.

It will burn up its forts.

War cries will be heard on that day of battle.

Strong winds will blow on that stormy day.

¹⁵Ammon’s god Molech will be carried away.

So will its officials,”

says the Lord.

2The Lord says,

“The people of Moab have sinned again and again.

So I will punish them.

They burned the bones

of Edom’s king to ashes.

²So I will send fire to destroy Moab.

It will burn up Kerioth’s forts.

Moab will come crashing down with a loud noise.

War cries will be heard.

So will the blast of trumpets.

³I will cut off Moab’s ruler.

I will also kill all of its officials,”

says the Lord.

⁴The Lord says,

“The people of Judah have sinned again and again.

So I will punish them.

They have refused to obey my law.

They have not kept my rules.

Other gods have led them down the wrong path.

Their people before them

worshiped those gods.

⁵So I will send fire to destroy Judah.

It will burn up Jerusalem’s forts.”

The Lord Punishes Israel

⁶The Lord says,

“The people of Israel have sinned again and again.

So I will punish them.

They sell into slavery those who do what is right.

They trade needy people

for a mere pair of sandals.

⁷They grind the heads of the poor

into the dust of the ground.

They refuse to be fair to those who are crushed.

A father and his son have sex with the same girl.

They treat my name as if it were not holy.

⁸They lie down beside every altar

on clothes they had taken

until the owner paid back what was owed.

In the house of their God

they drink wine that was taken as fines.

⁹“I destroyed the Amorites to make room

for my people in the land.

The Amorites were as tall as cedar trees.

They were as strong as oak trees.

But I cut off their fruit above the ground

and their roots below it.

¹⁰“People of Israel, I brought you up out of Egypt.

I led you in the desert for 40 years.

I gave you the land of the Amorites.

¹¹I raised up prophets from among your children.

I also set some of your young people apart to me as Nazirites.

Isn’t that true, people of Israel?”

announces the Lord.

¹²“But you made the Nazirites drink wine.

You commanded the prophets not to prophesy.

¹³“A cart that is loaded with grain

crushes anything it runs over.

In the same way, I will crush you.

¹⁴Your fastest runners will not escape.

The strongest people will not get away.

Even soldiers will not be able

to save their own lives.

¹⁵Men who are armed with bows will lose the battle.

Soldiers who are quick on their feet will not escape.

Horsemen will not be able

to save their own lives.

¹⁶Even your bravest soldiers

will run away naked on that day,”

announces the Lord.

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