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.
Amos 2
New International Version
2 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,
2 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)
3 I will destroy her ruler(F)
and kill all her officials with him,”(G)
says the Lord.(H)
4 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)
5 I will send fire(O) on Judah
that will consume the fortresses(P) of Jerusalem.(Q)”
Judgment on Israel
6 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)
7 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)
8 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)
9 “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.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.