Judgments on Israel’s Neighbors

The words of Amos, who was among the (A)sheepbreeders of (B)Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of (C)Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of (D)Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the (E)earthquake.

And he said:

“The Lord (F)roars from Zion,
And utters His voice from Jerusalem;
The pastures of the shepherds mourn,
And the top of (G)Carmel withers.”

Judgment on the Nations

Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of (H)Damascus, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they have (I)threshed Gilead with implements of iron.
(J)But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael,
Which shall devour the palaces of (K)Ben-Hadad.
I will also break the gate (L)bar of Damascus,
And cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven,
And the one who [a]holds the scepter from [b]Beth Eden.
The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,”
Says the Lord.

Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of (M)Gaza, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they took captive the whole captivity
To deliver them up to Edom.
(N)But I will send a fire upon the wall of Gaza,
Which shall devour its palaces.
I will cut off the inhabitant (O)from Ashdod,
And the one who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;
I will (P)turn My hand against Ekron,
And (Q)the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”
Says the Lord God.

Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of (R)Tyre, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom,
And did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
10 But I will send a fire upon the wall of Tyre,
Which shall devour its palaces.”

11 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of (S)Edom, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because he pursued his (T)brother with the sword,
And cast off all pity;
His anger tore perpetually,
And he kept his wrath forever.
12 But (U)I will send a fire upon Teman,
Which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.”

13 Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of (V)the people of Ammon, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because they ripped open the women with child in Gilead,
That they might enlarge their territory.
14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of (W)Rabbah,
And it shall devour its palaces,
(X)Amid shouting in the day of battle,
And a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.
15 (Y)Their king shall go into captivity,
He and his princes together,”
Says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 1:5 Rules
  2. Amos 1:5 Lit. House of Eden

Judgment on Neighbor Nations

The words of Amos, who was among the (A)sheepherders from (B)Tekoa, which he saw in visions concerning Israel in the days of (C)Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of (D)Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the (E)earthquake.

And he said,
“The (F)Lord roars from Zion,
And from Jerusalem He utters His voice;
And the shepherds’ (G)pasture grounds mourn,
And the [a](H)summit of Carmel dries up.”

This is what the Lord says:
“For (I)three offenses of (J)Damascus, and for four,
I will not [b]revoke its punishment,
Because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges.
So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael,
And it will consume the citadels of (K)Ben-hadad.
I will also (L)break the gate bar of Damascus,
And eliminate every inhabitant from the [c]Valley of Aven,
As well as him who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden;
So the people of Aram will be exiled to (M)Kir,”
Says the Lord.

This is what the Lord says:
“For three offenses of (N)Gaza, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they led into exile an entire population
To (O)turn them over to Edom.
So I will send fire on the wall of Gaza
And it will consume her citadels.
I will also eliminate every inhabitant from (P)Ashdod,
As well as him who holds the scepter, from (Q)Ashkelon;
And I will direct My [d]power against Ekron,
And the remnant of the (R)Philistines will perish,”
Says the Lord [e]God.

This is what the Lord says:
“For three offenses of (S)Tyre, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they turned an entire population over to Edom
And did not remember the covenant of [f](T)brotherhood.
10 So I will (U)send fire on the wall of Tyre,
And it will consume her citadels.”

11 This is what the Lord says:
“For three offenses of (V)Edom, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because he (W)pursued his brother with the sword
And stifled his compassion;
His anger also (X)tore continually,
And he maintained his fury forever.
12 So I will send fire upon (Y)Teman
And it will consume the citadels of Bozrah.”

13 This is what the Lord says:
“For three offenses of the sons of (Z)Ammon, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they (AA)ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead
In order to (AB)enlarge their borders.
14 So I will kindle a fire on the wall of (AC)Rabbah,
And it will consume her citadels
Amid [g](AD)war cries on the day of battle,
And amid a (AE)storm on the day of tempest.
15 Their (AF)king will go into exile,
He and his princes together,” says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 1:2 Lit head
  2. Amos 1:3 Lit cause it to turn back, and so throughout the ch
  3. Amos 1:5 Possibly Baalbek
  4. Amos 1:8 Lit hand
  5. Amos 1:8 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  6. Amos 1:9 Lit brothers
  7. Amos 1:14 Or shouts

Judgment on Neighboring Nations

The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders of [a]Tekoa, which he saw [in a divine revelation] concerning [b]Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.(A)


And he said,
“The Lord thunders and roars from Zion [in judgment]
And utters His voice from Jerusalem;
Then the pastures of the shepherds mourn,
And the summit of [Mount] Carmel dries up [because of God’s judgment].”(B)


Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Damascus and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I shall not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,
Because they have threshed Gilead [east of the Jordan River] with sharp iron sledges [having spikes that crushed and shredded].(C)

“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon the house of [c]Hazael,
And it shall devour the palaces and strongholds of [d]Ben-hadad (Hazael’s son).

“I also will break the bar [of the gate] of Damascus,
And cut off and destroy the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven (Wickedness),
And the ruler who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden (Damascus);
And the people of Aram [conquered by the Assyrians] will go into exile to [e]Kir,”
Says the Lord.(D)


Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Gaza [in Philistia] and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,
Because [as slave traders] they took captive the entire [Jewish] population [of defenseless Judean border villages, of which none was spared]
And deported them to Edom [for the slave trade].(E)

“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Gaza
And it shall consume her citadels.

“And I will cut off and destroy the inhabitants from Ashdod,
And the ruler who holds the scepter, from Ashkelon;
And I will unleash My power and turn My hand [in judgment] against Ekron,
And the rest of the Philistines [in Gath and the towns dependent on these four Philistine cities] shall die,”
Says the Lord God.(F)


Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Tyre and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,
Because they [as middlemen] deported an entire [Jewish] population to Edom
And did not [seriously] remember their covenant of brotherhood.(G)
10 
“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Tyre,
And it shall consume her citadels.”

11 
Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Edom [the descendants of Esau] and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,
Because he pursued his brother Jacob (Israel) with the sword,
Corrupting and stifling his compassions and casting off all mercy;
His destructive anger raged continually,
And he maintained [and nurtured] his wrath forever.
12 
“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon Teman,
And it shall consume the citadels of Bozrah [in Edom].”

13 
Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of the children of [f]Ammon and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,
Because the Ammonites have ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead,
That they might enlarge their border.
14 
“So I will kindle a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Rabbah [in Ammon]
And it shall devour its strongholds
Amid war cries and shouts of alarm on the day of battle,
And a tempest on the day of the whirlwind [when the enemy captures the city].
15 
“Their king shall go into exile,
He and his princes together,” says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 1:1 Tekoa was a small town in Judah about 10 miles south of Jerusalem.
  2. Amos 1:1 Amos was from the Southern Kingdom, Judah, but his message of divine judgment was primarily directed to the Northern Kingdom, Israel.
  3. Amos 1:4 Hazael ruled from Damascus (842-796 b.c.) as king of Aram (Syria). He was an important official in the court of Hadadezer whom he assassinated and then succeeded.
  4. Amos 1:4 Ben-hadad succeeded his father and ruled from 796-775 b.c.
  5. Amos 1:5 Perhaps back to the homeland of the Arameans (Syrians). Its location is uncertain.
  6. Amos 1:13 Descendants of Ben-ammi, the son born to Lot and his younger daughter (Gen 19:30-38).

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)

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