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Here is what the Eternal says about Moab, Ammon’s brother nation east of the Jordan:

Eternal One: For three crimes of Moab,
        no for four, I have laid down My sentence and will not revoke it
    Because they burned to ash the bones of the king of Edom,
        believing this would prevent his resurrection.
    So I will send down fire on Moab and burn down the fortresses of Kerioth,
        where the people worship Chemosh.
    Moab will be destroyed in an uproar,
        with warriors screaming and war horns blaring,
    And I will destroy their ruler,
        along with all the officials who counsel him.

Here is what the Eternal says about Judah:

Eternal One: For three crimes of Judah,
        no for four, I have laid down My sentence and will not revoke it
    Because they have rejected the teachings of the Eternal One
        and have not kept His commandments,
    But they have walked away to follow the same lying idols
        their ancestors pursued.
    So I will send down fire on Judah
        and burn down all the fortresses of Jerusalem.

Here, Israel, is what the Eternal says about your past and present behavior:

Eternal One: For three crimes of Israel,
        no for four, I have laid down My sentence and will not revoke it
    Because they have sold the right-living for silver
        and the poor and their property for a pair of sandals.
    They have trampled the heads of the weak into the dirt
        and pushed the oppressed even further down.
    A father and his son sleep with the same girl,
        trampling My holy name in the process.
    And the religious lie beside every altar
        on garments taken as collateral from their debtors;
    And in the house of their pagan god, they drink
        wine bought with the fines they have imposed on others.

    Still I destroyed all of Canaan’s Amorites before them,
        those Canaanites who were as tall as the towering cedars,
        as strong as the mighty oaks.
    As entrenched as they were, I still destroyed their fruit above
        and their roots underneath My promised land.
10     And I brought you up out of the land of Egypt
        and led you safely through 40 years of wilderness wandering
        to take possession of the land of the Amorites.
11     I took some of your children and raised them up as prophets,
        and I called some of your youth to be Nazirites, set aside to My service.
    Isn’t this true, people of Israel?

God’s very own people are forcing those who have dedicated their service to Him to abandon their calling. Here He renders His judgment on them.

So says the Eternal.

12 Eternal One: But you made the Nazirites break their vows and drink wine.
        You told the prophets, “Don’t you dare prophesy!”

13     I will press you down beneath your enemies, just as a wagon full of fresh grain creaks
        and groans beneath its own weight.
14     The swift will lose their speed; there will be no escape;
        the strong will lose his strength; the warrior will not survive the battle;
15     The archer will not be able to stand his ground and aim his arrows.
        Even the fastest runner will not escape, nor will the one who rides on horseback.
16     The bravest and strongest soldiers will throw down their weapons
        and run naked for cover on that day.

So says the Eternal One.

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

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:

But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kirioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:

And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;

That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:

And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

10 Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.

11 And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the Lord.

12 But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

13 Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.

14 Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:

15 Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.

16 And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the Lord.