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This message was given to Amos, a shepherd from the town of Tekoa in Judah. He received this message in visions two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam II, the son of Jehoash,[a] was king of Israel.

This is what he saw and heard:

“The Lord’s voice will roar from Zion
    and thunder from Jerusalem!
The lush pastures of the shepherds will dry up;
    the grass on Mount Carmel will wither and die.”

God’s Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

This is what the Lord says:

“The people of Damascus have sinned again and again,[b]
    and I will not let them go unpunished!
They beat down my people in Gilead
    as grain is threshed with iron sledges.
So I will send down fire on King Hazael’s palace,
    and the fortresses of King Ben-hadad will be destroyed.
I will break down the gates of Damascus
    and slaughter the people in the valley of Aven.
I will destroy the ruler in Beth-eden,
    and the people of Aram will go as captives to Kir,”
    says the Lord.

This is what the Lord says:

“The people of Gaza have sinned again and again,
    and I will not let them go unpunished!
They sent whole villages into exile,
    selling them as slaves to Edom.
So I will send down fire on the walls of Gaza,
    and all its fortresses will be destroyed.
I will slaughter the people of Ashdod
    and destroy the king of Ashkelon.
Then I will turn to attack Ekron,
    and the few Philistines still left will be killed,”
    says the Sovereign Lord.

This is what the Lord says:

“The people of Tyre have sinned again and again,
    and I will not let them go unpunished!
They broke their treaty of brotherhood with Israel,
    selling whole villages as slaves to Edom.
10 So I will send down fire on the walls of Tyre,
    and all its fortresses will be destroyed.”

11 This is what the Lord says:

“The people of Edom have sinned again and again,
    and I will not let them go unpunished!
They chased down their relatives, the Israelites, with swords,
    showing them no mercy.
In their rage, they slashed them continually
    and were unrelenting in their anger.
12 So I will send down fire on Teman,
    and the fortresses of Bozrah will be destroyed.”

13 This is what the Lord says:

“The people of Ammon have sinned again and again,
    and I will not let them go unpunished!
When they attacked Gilead to extend their borders,
    they ripped open pregnant women with their swords.
14 So I will send down fire on the walls of Rabbah,
    and all its fortresses will be destroyed.
The battle will come upon them with shouts,
    like a whirlwind in a mighty storm.
15 And their king[c] and his princes will go into exile together,”
    says the Lord.

This is what the Lord says:

“The people of Moab have sinned again and again,[d]
    and I will not let them go unpunished!
They desecrated the bones of Edom’s king,
    burning them to ashes.
So I will send down fire on the land of Moab,
    and all the fortresses in Kerioth will be destroyed.
The people will fall in the noise of battle,
    as the warriors shout and the ram’s horn sounds.
And I will destroy their king
    and slaughter all their princes,”
    says the Lord.

God’s Judgment on Judah and Israel

This is what the Lord says:

“The people of Judah have sinned again and again,
    and I will not let them go unpunished!
They have rejected the instruction of the Lord,
    refusing to obey his decrees.
They have been led astray by the same lies
    that deceived their ancestors.
So I will send down fire on Judah,
    and all the fortresses of Jerusalem will be destroyed.”

This is what the Lord says:

“The people of Israel have sinned again and again,
    and I will not let them go unpunished!
They sell honorable people for silver
    and poor people for a pair of sandals.
They trample helpless people in the dust
    and shove the oppressed out of the way.
Both father and son sleep with the same woman,
    corrupting my holy name.
At their religious festivals,
    they lounge in clothing their debtors put up as security.
In the house of their gods,[e]
    they drink wine bought with unjust fines.

“But as my people watched,
    I destroyed the Amorites,
though they were as tall as cedars
    and as strong as oaks.
I destroyed the fruit on their branches
    and dug out their roots.
10 It was I who rescued you from Egypt
    and led you through the desert for forty years,
    so you could possess the land of the Amorites.
11 I chose some of your sons to be prophets
    and others to be Nazirites.
Can you deny this, my people of Israel?”
    asks the Lord.
12 “But you caused the Nazirites to sin by making them drink wine,
    and you commanded the prophets, ‘Shut up!’

13 “So I will make you groan
    like a wagon loaded down with sheaves of grain.
14 Your fastest runners will not get away.
    The strongest among you will become weak.
Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves.
15     The archers will not stand their ground.
The swiftest runners won’t be fast enough to escape.
    Even those riding horses won’t be able to save themselves.
16 On that day the most courageous of your fighting men
    will drop their weapons and run for their lives,”
    says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant spelling of Jehoash.
  2. 1:3 Hebrew have committed three sins, even four; also in 1:6, 9, 11, 13.
  3. 1:15 Hebrew malcam, possibly referring to their god Molech.
  4. 2:1 Hebrew have committed three sins, even four; also in 2:4, 6.
  5. 2:8 Or their God.

The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa(A)—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake,(B) when Uzziah(C) was king of Judah and Jeroboam(D) son of Jehoash[a] was king of Israel.(E)

He said:

“The Lord roars(F) from Zion
    and thunders(G) from Jerusalem;(H)
the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
    and the top of Carmel(I) withers.”(J)

Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Damascus,(K)
    even for four, I will not relent.(L)
Because she threshed Gilead
    with sledges having iron teeth,
I will send fire(M) on the house of Hazael(N)
    that will consume the fortresses(O) of Ben-Hadad.(P)
I will break down the gate(Q) of Damascus;
    I will destroy the king who is in[b] the Valley of Aven[c]
and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.(R)
    The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,(S)
says the Lord.(T)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Gaza,(U)
    even for four, I will not relent.(V)
Because she took captive whole communities
    and sold them to Edom,(W)
I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
    that will consume her fortresses.
I will destroy the king[d] of Ashdod(X)
    and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand(Y) against Ekron,
    till the last of the Philistines(Z) are dead,”(AA)
says the Sovereign Lord.(AB)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Tyre,(AC)
    even for four, I will not relent.(AD)
Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,
    disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,(AE)
10 I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
    that will consume her fortresses.(AF)

11 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Edom,(AG)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued his brother with a sword(AH)
    and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
    and his fury flamed unchecked,(AI)
12 I will send fire on Teman(AJ)
    that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.(AK)

13 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Ammon,(AL)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he ripped open the pregnant women(AM) of Gilead
    in order to extend his borders,
14 I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah(AN)
    that will consume(AO) her fortresses
amid war cries(AP) on the day of battle,
    amid violent winds(AQ) on a stormy day.
15 Her king[e] will go into exile,
    he and his officials together,(AR)
says the Lord.(AS)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Moab,(AT)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes(AU)
    the bones of Edom’s king,
I will send fire on Moab
    that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.[f](AV)
Moab will go down in great tumult
    amid war cries(AW) and the blast of the trumpet.(AX)
I will destroy her ruler(AY)
    and kill all her officials with him,”(AZ)
says the Lord.(BA)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Judah,(BB)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law(BC) of the Lord
    and have not kept his decrees,(BD)
because they have been led astray(BE) by false gods,[g](BF)
    the gods[h] their ancestors followed,(BG)
I will send fire(BH) on Judah
    that will consume the fortresses(BI) of Jerusalem.(BJ)

Judgment on Israel

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Israel,
    even for four, I will not relent.(BK)
They sell the innocent for silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals.(BL)
They trample on the heads of the poor
    as on the dust of the ground
    and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
    and so profane my holy name.(BM)
They lie down beside every altar
    on garments taken in pledge.(BN)
In the house of their god
    they drink wine(BO) taken as fines.(BP)

“Yet I destroyed the Amorites(BQ) before them,
    though they were tall(BR) as the cedars
    and strong as the oaks.(BS)
I destroyed their fruit above
    and their roots(BT) below.
10 I brought you up out of Egypt(BU)
    and led(BV) you forty years in the wilderness(BW)
    to give you the land of the Amorites.(BX)

11 “I also raised up prophets(BY) from among your children
    and Nazirites(BZ) from among your youths.
Is this not true, people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine
    and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.(CA)

13 “Now then, I will crush you
    as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.(CB)
14 The swift will not escape,(CC)
    the strong(CD) will not muster their strength,
    and the warrior will not save his life.(CE)
15 The archer(CF) will not stand his ground,
    the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
    and the horseman(CG) will not save his life.(CH)
16 Even the bravest warriors(CI)
    will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash
  2. Amos 1:5 Or the inhabitants of
  3. Amos 1:5 Aven means wickedness.
  4. Amos 1:8 Or inhabitants
  5. Amos 1:15 Or / Molek
  6. Amos 2:2 Or of her cities
  7. Amos 2:4 Or by lies
  8. Amos 2:4 Or lies