Amos 2
English Standard Version
2 Thus says the Lord:
(A)“For three transgressions of (B)Moab,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[a]
because (C)he burned to lime
the bones of the king of Edom.
2 So I will send a fire upon Moab,
and it shall devour the strongholds of (D)Kerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
3 (E)I will cut off the ruler from its midst,
and will kill (F)all its princes[b] with him,”
says the Lord.
Judgment on Judah
4 Thus says the Lord:
(G)“For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because (H)they have rejected the law of the Lord,
and have not kept his statutes,
but (I)their lies have led them astray,
those after which their fathers walked.
5 So (J)I will send a fire upon Judah,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”
Judgment on Israel
6 Thus says the Lord:
(K)“For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because (L)they sell the righteous for (M)silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals—
7 those who trample the head of the poor (N)into the dust of the earth
and (O)turn aside the way of the afflicted;
(P)a man and his father go in to the same girl,
so that my holy name is profaned;
8 they lay themselves down beside every altar
on garments (Q)taken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
the wine of those who have been fined.
9 “Yet (R)it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
(S)whose height was like the height of the cedars
and who was as strong as the oaks;
(T)I destroyed his fruit above
and his roots beneath.
10 (U)Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
(V)and led you forty years in the wilderness,
(W)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 (X)Nazirites.
Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites (Y)drink wine,
and commanded the prophets,
saying, (Z)‘You shall not prophesy.’
13 “Behold, I will press you down in your place,
as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
14 (AA)Flight shall perish from the swift,
(AB)and the strong shall not retain his strength,
(AC)nor shall the mighty save his life;
15 he who handles the bow shall not stand,
and he who is (AD)swift of foot shall not save himself,
(AE)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.
Amos 2
International Standard Version
A Warning to Moab
2 This is what the Lord says:
“For three transgressions of Moab
because they[a] cremated the bones of the king of Edom,
burning them[b] to lime.
2 So I will send down fire upon Moab,
and it will devour the fortified citadels of Kerioth.
Moab will die in the uproar of battle,[c]
with a war cry
and with the trumpeting of the ram’s horn.
3 I will execute their rulers among them,
killing all of their officials as well,”
says the Lord.
A Warning to Judah
4 This is what the Lord says:
“For three transgressions of Judah
—and now for a fourth—
I will not turn away;
because they[d] rejected the Law of the Lord
and did not keep his statutes.
Their own lies made them wander off,
following along the same path their ancestors walked.
5 So I will send down fire upon Judah,
and it will devour the fortified citadels of Jerusalem.”
A Warning to Israel
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For three transgressions of Israel
—and now for a fourth—
I will not turn away;
because they sold the righteous for money,
and the poor for sandals,
7 moving quickly[e] to rub the face[f] of the needy in the dirt.
Corrupting[g] the ways of the humble,
a man and his father go to the same woman,
deliberately defiling my holy name.
8 They lay down beside every altar,
on garments pledged as collateral,[h]
drinking wine paid for through fines
imposed by the temple of their gods.
9 Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorites in front of them,
though their height seemed like a cedar,[i]
though their strength seemed like an oak,
but whose fruit I destroyed from above
and the roots from beneath.
10 Furthermore, I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
leading you in the wilderness for 40 years,
to take possession of the land of the Amorites.
11 I also raised up your sons to be prophets,
and from your young men I raised up Nazirites.[j]
Is this not true, people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
12 “But you forced the Nazirites to drink wine,
and commanded the prophets,
‘You are not to prophesy!’
13 “Oh, how I am burdened down with you,
as a wagon is overloaded with harvested grain!
14 So the swift runner will not escape,[k]
the valiant will not fortify his strength,
and the mighty warrior will not save his life.
15 The skilled archer will not be able to stand,
the swift runner will not survive,
and the mounted rider will not preserve his own life.
16 Even the bravest of elite troops will run away naked at that time,”
declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Amos 2:1 Lit. he; i.e. the nation personified as an individual
- Amos 2:1 The Heb. lacks burning them
- Amos 2:2 The Heb. lacks of battle
- Amos 2:4 Lit. he; i.e. the nation personified as an individual
- Amos 2:7 Lit. They chase
- Amos 2:7 Lit. head
- Amos 2:7 Lit. turning aside
- Amos 2:8 I.e. violating Deut 24:10-13 in addition to idolatry
- Amos 2:9 I.e. a genus of coniferous evergreen in the family Pinaceae
- Amos 2:11 I.e. men who make a special vow with God (cf. Num 6:1-21)
- Amos 2:14 Lit. So flight will escape the swift runner
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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