Judgment on Judah

Thus says the Lord:

(A)“For three transgressions of Judah,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because (B)they have rejected the law of the Lord,
    and have not kept his statutes,
but (C)their lies have led them astray,
    those after which their fathers walked.
So (D)I will send a fire upon Judah,
    and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”

Judgment on Israel

Thus says the Lord:

(E)“For three transgressions of Israel,
    and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because (F)they sell the righteous for (G)silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals—
those who trample the head of the poor (H)into the dust of the earth
    and (I)turn aside the way of the afflicted;
(J)a man and his father go in to the same girl,
    so that my holy name is profaned;
they lay themselves down beside every altar
    on garments (K)taken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
    the wine of those who have been fined.

“Yet (L)it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
    (M)whose height was like the height of the cedars
    and who was as strong as the oaks;
(N)I destroyed his fruit above
    and his roots beneath.
10 (O)Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
    (P)and led you forty years in the wilderness,
    (Q)to possess the land of the Amorite.
11 And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
    and some of your young men for (R)Nazirites.
    Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.

12 “But you made the Nazirites (S)drink wine,
    and commanded the prophets,
    saying, (T)‘You shall not prophesy.’

13 “Behold, I will press you down in your place,
    as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
14 (U)Flight shall perish from the swift,
    (V)and the strong shall not retain his strength,
    (W)nor shall the mighty save his life;
15 he who handles the bow shall not stand,
    and he who is (X)swift of foot shall not save himself,
    (Y)nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;
16 and he who is stout of heart among the mighty
    shall flee away naked in that day,”
declares the Lord.

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This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Judah,(A)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law(B) of the Lord
    and have not kept his decrees,(C)
because they have been led astray(D) by false gods,[a](E)
    the gods[b] their ancestors followed,(F)
I will send fire(G) on Judah
    that will consume the fortresses(H) of Jerusalem.(I)

Judgment on Israel

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Israel,
    even for four, I will not relent.(J)
They sell the innocent for silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals.(K)
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.(L)
They lie down beside every altar
    on garments taken in pledge.(M)
In the house of their god
    they drink wine(N) taken as fines.(O)

“Yet I destroyed the Amorites(P) before them,
    though they were tall(Q) as the cedars
    and strong as the oaks.(R)
I destroyed their fruit above
    and their roots(S) below.
10 I brought you up out of Egypt(T)
    and led(U) you forty years in the wilderness(V)
    to give you the land of the Amorites.(W)

11 “I also raised up prophets(X) from among your children
    and Nazirites(Y) 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.(Z)

13 “Now then, I will crush you
    as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.(AA)
14 The swift will not escape,(AB)
    the strong(AC) will not muster their strength,
    and the warrior will not save his life.(AD)
15 The archer(AE) will not stand his ground,
    the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
    and the horseman(AF) will not save his life.(AG)
16 Even the bravest warriors(AH)
    will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 2:4 Or by lies
  2. Amos 2:4 Or lies