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The People of Moab

This is what the Lord says:

“For the many crimes Moab is doing,
    I will punish them.
    They burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime.
So I will send fire on Moab.
    And it will destroy the strong towers of the city of Kerioth.
The people of Moab will die in a great noise.
    They will die in the middle of sounds of war and trumpets.
So I will bring an end to the king of Moab.
    And I will kill all its leaders with him,” says the Lord.

The People of Judah

This is what the Lord says:

“For the many crimes Judah is doing,
    I will punish them.
They rejected the teachings of the Lord.
    They did not keep his commands.
Their ancestors followed false gods.
    And Judah followed those same gods.
So I will send fire on Judah.
    It will destroy the strong towers of Jerusalem.”

Israel Is Punished

This is what the Lord says:

“For the many crimes Israel is doing,
    I will punish them.
For silver they sell people who have done nothing wrong.
    They sell poor people for the price of a pair of sandals.
They walk on poor people
    as if they were dirt.
    They refuse to be fair to those who are suffering.
Fathers and sons have physical relations with the same woman.
    By doing this they ruin my holy name.
As they worship at their altars,
    they lie down on clothes taken from poor people.
They make people pay money as punishment.
    With that money they buy wine to drink in the house of their god.

“But it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them.
    The Amorites were tall like cedar trees and as strong as oaks.
But I destroyed them completely.
10 It was I who brought you from the land of Egypt.
    For 40 years I led you through the desert.
    I led you so I could give you the land of the Amorites.
11 I made some of your sons to be prophets.
    I made some of your young men to be Nazirites.
People of Israel, isn’t this true?” says the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine.
    You told the prophets not to prophesy my message.
13 Now I will crush you
    as a wagon loaded with grain crushes anything beneath it.
14 No one will escape, not even the fastest runner.
    Strong men will not be strong enough.
    Warriors will not be able to save themselves.
15 Soldiers with bows and arrows will not stand and fight.
    Even soldiers who run quickly will not get away.
    Soldiers on horses will not escape alive.
16 At that time even the bravest warriors
    will run away without their armor,” says the Lord.

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Moab,(A)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes(B)
    the bones of Edom’s king,
I will send fire on Moab
    that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.[a](C)
Moab will go down in great tumult
    amid war cries(D) and the blast of the trumpet.(E)
I will destroy her ruler(F)
    and kill all her officials with him,”(G)
says the Lord.(H)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Judah,(I)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law(J) of the Lord
    and have not kept his decrees,(K)
because they have been led astray(L) by false gods,[b](M)
    the gods[c] their ancestors followed,(N)
I will send fire(O) on Judah
    that will consume the fortresses(P) of Jerusalem.(Q)

Judgment on Israel

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Israel,
    even for four, I will not relent.(R)
They sell the innocent for silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals.(S)
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.(T)
They lie down beside every altar
    on garments taken in pledge.(U)
In the house of their god
    they drink wine(V) taken as fines.(W)

“Yet I destroyed the Amorites(X) before them,
    though they were tall(Y) as the cedars
    and strong as the oaks.(Z)
I destroyed their fruit above
    and their roots(AA) below.
10 I brought you up out of Egypt(AB)
    and led(AC) you forty years in the wilderness(AD)
    to give you the land of the Amorites.(AE)

11 “I also raised up prophets(AF) from among your children
    and Nazirites(AG) 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.(AH)

13 “Now then, I will crush you
    as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.(AI)
14 The swift will not escape,(AJ)
    the strong(AK) will not muster their strength,
    and the warrior will not save his life.(AL)
15 The archer(AM) will not stand his ground,
    the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
    and the horseman(AN) will not save his life.(AO)
16 Even the bravest warriors(AP)
    will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 2:2 Or of her cities
  2. Amos 2:4 Or by lies
  3. Amos 2:4 Or lies