Amos 2
New American Standard Bible
Judgment on Moab
2 This is what the Lord says:
“For three offenses of (A)Moab, and for four,
I will not [a]revoke its punishment,
Because he (B)burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
2 So I will send fire upon Moab
And it will consume the citadels of (C)Kerioth;
And Moab will die amid the (D)panic of battle,
Amid war cries and the sound of a trumpet.
3 I will also eliminate the [b](E)judge from her midst
And slay all her (F)leaders with him,” says the Lord.
Judgment on Judah
4 This is what the Lord says:
“For three offenses of (G)Judah, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they (H)rejected the Law of the Lord
And have not kept His statutes;
Their [c](I)lies also have led them astray,
Those which their (J)fathers followed.
5 So I will (K)send fire upon Judah,
And it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”
Judgment on Israel
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For three offenses of (L)Israel, and for four,
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they (M)sell the righteous for [d]money,
And the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 These who [e]trample the head of the (N)helpless to the dust of the earth
Also (O)divert the way of the humble;
And a (P)man and his father [f]resort to the same [g]girl
So as to profane My holy name.
8 And on garments (Q)seized as pledges they stretch out beside (R)every altar,
And in the house of their God they (S)drink the wine of those who have been fined.
9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the (T)Amorite before them,
[h]Though his (U)height was like the height of cedars
And he was as strong as the oaks;
I also destroyed his (V)fruit above and his roots below.
10 And it was I who (W)brought you up from the land of Egypt,
And led you in the wilderness for (X)forty years
So that you might take possession of the land of the (Y)Amorite.
11 Then I (Z)raised up some of your sons to be prophets,
And some of your young men to be (AA)Nazirites.
Is this not so, you sons of Israel?” declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine,
And you commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You (AB)shall not prophesy!’
13 Behold, I am (AC)making a rut in the ground beneath you,
Just as a wagon makes a rut when filled with sheaves.
14 (AD)Refuge will be lost from the swift,
And the strong will not strengthen his power,
Nor the (AE)warrior save his [i]life.
15 The one who (AF)grasps the bow will not stand his ground,
The swift of foot will not escape,
Nor will the one who rides the (AG)horse save his [j]life.
16 Even the [k]bravest among the warriors will (AH)flee naked on that day,” declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Amos 2:1 Lit cause it to turn back, and so throughout the ch
- Amos 2:3 Or executive officer
- Amos 2:4 Or false gods
- Amos 2:6 Lit silver
- Amos 2:7 Or pant for the dust...on the head of the helpless
- Amos 2:7 Lit go
- Amos 2:7 Possibly a prostitute, or a temple prostitute
- Amos 2:9 Lit Whose height
- Amos 2:14 Lit soul
- Amos 2:15 Lit soul
- Amos 2:16 Lit strong of his heart
Amos 2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
2 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Moab,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[a]
because he burned to lime
the bones of the king of Edom.(A)
2 So I will send a fire on Moab,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Kerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;(B)
3 I will cut off the ruler from its midst
and will kill all its officials with him,
says the Lord.(C)
Judgment on Judah
4 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[b]
because they have rejected the instruction of the Lord
and have not kept his statutes,
but they have been led astray by the same lies
after which their ancestors walked.(D)
5 So I will send a fire on Judah,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.(E)
Judgment on Israel
6 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[c]
because they sell the righteous for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals—(F)
7 they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth
and push the afflicted out of the way;
father and son go in to the same young woman,
so that my holy name is profaned;(G)
8 they lay themselves down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge;
and in the house of their God they drink
wine bought with fines they imposed.(H)
9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them,
whose height was like the height of cedars
and who was as strong as oaks;
I destroyed his fruit above
and his roots beneath.(I)
10 Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt
and led you forty years in the wilderness,
to possess the land of the Amorite.(J)
11 And I raised up some of your children to be prophets
and some of your youths to be nazirites.
Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?
says the Lord.(K)
12 But you made the nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets,
saying, “You shall not prophesy.”(L)
13 So, I will press you down in your place,
just as a cart presses down
when it is full of sheaves.[d](M)
14 Flight shall perish from the swift,
and the strong shall not retain their strength,
nor shall the mighty save their lives;(N)
15 those who handle the bow shall not stand,
and those who are swift of foot shall not save themselves,
nor shall those who ride horses save their lives;(O)
16 and those who are stout of heart among the mighty
shall flee away naked on that day,
says the Lord.(P)
Amos 2
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
2 Thus saith the Lord: For three crimes of Moab, and for four I will not convert him: because he hath burnt the bones of the king of Edom even to ashes.
2 And I will send a fire into Moab, and it shall devour the houses of Carioth: and Moab shall die with a noise, with the sound of the trumpet:
3 And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all his princes with him, saith the Lord.
4 Thus saith the Lord: For three crimes of Juda, and for four I will not convert him: because he hath cast away the law of the Lord, and hath not kept his commandments: for their idols have caused them to err, after which their fathers have walked.
5 And I will send a fire into Juda, and it shall devour the houses of Jerusalem.
6 Thus saith the Lord: For three crimes of Israel, and for four I will not convert him: because he hath sold the just man for silver, and the poor man for a pair of shoes.
7 They bruise the heads of the poor upon the dust of the earth, and turn aside the way of the humble: and the son and his father have gone to the same young woman, to profane my holy name.
8 And they sat down upon garments laid to pledge by every altar: and drank the wine of the condemned in the house of their God.
9 Yet I cast out the Amorrhite before their face: whose height was like the height of cedars, and who was strong as an oak: and I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots beneath.
10 It is I that brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and I led you forty years through the wilderness, that you might possess the land of the Amorrhite.
11 And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not so, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord?
12 And you will present wine to the Nazarites: and command the prophets, saying: Prophesy not.
13 Behold, I will screak under you as a wain screaketh that is laden with hay.
14 And flight shall perish from the swift, and the valiant shall not possess his strength, neither shall the strong save his life.
15 And he that holdeth the bow shall not stand, and the swift of foot shall not escape, neither shall the rider of the horse save his life.
16 And the stout of heart among the valiant shall flee away naked in that day, saith the Lord.
Amos 2
The Message
2 1-3 God’s Message:
“Because of the three great sins of Moab
—make that four—I’m not putting up with her any longer.
She violated the corpse of Edom’s king,
burning it to cinders.
For that, I’m burning down Moab,
burning down the forts of Kerioth.
Moab will die in the shouting,
go out in the blare of war trumpets.
I’ll remove the king from the center
and kill all his princes with him.”
God’s Decree.
4-5 God’s Message:
“Because of the three great sins of Judah
—make that four—I’m not putting up with them any longer.
They rejected God’s revelation,
refused to keep my commands.
But they swallowed the same old lies
that got their ancestors onto dead-end roads.
For that, I’m burning down Judah,
burning down all the forts of Jerusalem.”
Destroyed from the Roots Up
6-8 God’s Message:
“Because of the three great sins of Israel
—make that four—I’m not putting up with them any longer.
They buy and sell upstanding people.
People for them are only things—ways of making money.
They’d sell a poor man for a pair of shoes.
They’d sell their own grandmother!
They grind the penniless into the dirt,
shove the luckless into the ditch.
Everyone and his brother sleeps with the ‘sacred whore’—
a sacrilege against my Holy Name.
Stuff they’ve extorted from the poor
is piled up at the shrine of their god,
While they sit around drinking wine
they’ve conned from their victims.
9-11 “In contrast, I was always on your side.
I destroyed the Amorites who confronted you,
Amorites with the stature of great cedars,
tough as thick oaks.
I destroyed them from the top branches down.
I destroyed them from the roots up.
And yes, I’m the One who delivered you from Egypt,
led you safely through the wilderness for forty years
And then handed you the country of the Amorites
like a piece of cake on a platter.
I raised up some of your young men to be prophets,
set aside your best youth for training in holiness.
Isn’t this so, Israel?”
God’s Decree.
12-13 “But you made the youth-in-training break training,
and you told the young prophets, ‘Don’t prophesy!’
You’re too much for me.
I’m hard-pressed—to the breaking point.
I’m like a wagon piled high and overloaded,
creaking and groaning.
14-16 “When I go into action, what will you do?
There’s no place to run no matter how fast you run.
The strength of the strong won’t count.
Fighters won’t make it.
Skilled archers won’t make it.
Fast runners won’t make it.
Chariot drivers won’t make it.
Even the bravest of all your warriors
Won’t make it.
He’ll run off for dear life, stripped naked.”
God’s Decree.
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