Judgment on Israel

Thus says the Lord:

(A)“For three transgressions of Moab, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because he (B)burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
But I will send a fire upon Moab,
And it shall devour the palaces of (C)Kerioth;
Moab shall die with tumult,
With shouting and trumpet sound.
And I will cut off (D)the judge from its midst,
And slay all its princes with him,”
Says the Lord.

Judgment on Judah

Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of (E)Judah, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
(F)Because they have despised the law of the Lord,
And have not kept His commandments.
(G)Their lies lead them astray,
Lies (H)which their fathers followed.
(I)But I will send a fire upon Judah,
And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”

Judgment on Israel

Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of (J)Israel, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because (K)they sell the righteous for silver,
And the (L)poor for a pair of sandals.
They [a]pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor,
And (M)pervert the way of the humble.
(N)A man and his father go in to the same girl,
(O)To defile My holy name.
They lie down (P)by every altar on clothes (Q)taken in pledge,
And drink the wine of [b]the condemned in the house of their god.

“Yet it was I who destroyed the (R)Amorite before them,
Whose height was like the (S)height of the cedars,
And he was as strong as the oaks;
Yet I (T)destroyed his fruit above
And his roots beneath.
10 Also it was (U)I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,
And (V)led you forty years through the wilderness,
To possess the land of the Amorite.
11 I raised up some of your sons as (W)prophets,
And some of your young men as (X)Nazirites.
Is it not so, O you children of Israel?”
Says the Lord.
12 “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,
And commanded the prophets (Y)saying,
‘Do not prophesy!’

13 “Behold,(Z) I am [c]weighed down by you,
As a cart full of sheaves [d]is weighed down.
14 (AA)Therefore [e]flight shall perish from the swift,
The strong shall not strengthen his power,
(AB)Nor shall the mighty [f]deliver himself;
15 He shall not stand who handles the bow,
The swift of foot shall not [g]escape,
Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.
16 The most [h]courageous men of might
Shall flee naked in that day,”
Says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 2:7 Or trample on
  2. Amos 2:8 Or those punished by fines
  3. Amos 2:13 Or tottering under
  4. Amos 2:13 Or totters
  5. Amos 2:14 Or the place of refuge
  6. Amos 2:14 Lit. save his soul or life
  7. Amos 2:15 Or save
  8. Amos 2:16 Lit. strong of his heart among the mighty

Thus says Adonai:

For three crimes of Moab
    even for four, I will not relent.
For he burned the bones of Edom’s king to lime,
So I will send fire upon Moab—
it will devour Kerioth’s citadels.
Moab will die in an uproar,
    with a shout of alarm
    and the sound of the shofar.
I will cut off the ruler from her midst,
and slay all her princes with him.
Thus Adonai has said.

As for Judah and Israel
Thus says Adonai:
“For three crimes of Judah
    even for four, I will not relent.
For they despise Adonai’s Torah
    and have not kept His statutes.
Their lies have misled them—
those their fathers walked after.
So I will send fire upon Judah—
it will devour Jerusalem’s citadels.”
Thus says Adonai:
“For three crimes of Israel
    even for four, I will not relent.
For they sell the righteous for silver
    and the needy for a pair of shoes.
They trample the head of the poor
    into the dust of the earth
and thwart the way of the humble.
A man and his father go to the same girl,[a]
    to profane My holy Name.
Upon garments taken in pledge
    they stretch out beside every altar,
and drink wine confiscated as fines
    in the house of their gods.

“I destroyed the Amorite before them,
whose height was like cedars
    and as strong as oaks—
    yes, I destroyed his fruit from above
    and his roots from beneath.
10 It was I also who brought you up from the land of Egypt
    and led you forty years in the wilderness
    to possess the Amorite’s land.
11 I raised up prophets from your sons
and Nazirites from your young men.
Is this not so, Bnei Yisrael?”
declares Adonai.
12 “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,
and you commanded the prophets saying,
    ‘Do not prophesy.’
13 Behold! I will cause a tottering beneath you
    as a cart totters when full of sheaves.
14 Then flight will fail for the swift.
The mighty will not strengthen his power,
The warrior will not save his life.
15 The archer will not stand,
the fleet-footed will not escape,
the horseman will not save himself.
16 The valiant among the warriors
    will flee naked in that day.”
declares Adonai.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 2:7 Or, pagan temple prostitute.

This is what the Lord says:

“The people of Moab have sinned again and again,[a]
    and I will not let them go unpunished!
They desecrated the bones of Edom’s king,
    burning them to ashes.
So I will send down fire on the land of Moab,
    and all the fortresses in Kerioth will be destroyed.
The people will fall in the noise of battle,
    as the warriors shout and the ram’s horn sounds.
And I will destroy their king
    and slaughter all their princes,”
    says the Lord.

God’s Judgment on Judah and Israel

This is what the Lord says:

“The people of Judah have sinned again and again,
    and I will not let them go unpunished!
They have rejected the instruction of the Lord,
    refusing to obey his decrees.
They have been led astray by the same lies
    that deceived their ancestors.
So I will send down fire on Judah,
    and all the fortresses of Jerusalem will be destroyed.”

This is what the Lord says:

“The people of Israel have sinned again and again,
    and I will not let them go unpunished!
They sell honorable people for silver
    and poor people for a pair of sandals.
They trample helpless people in the dust
    and shove the oppressed out of the way.
Both father and son sleep with the same woman,
    corrupting my holy name.
At their religious festivals,
    they lounge in clothing their debtors put up as security.
In the house of their gods,[b]
    they drink wine bought with unjust fines.

“But as my people watched,
    I destroyed the Amorites,
though they were as tall as cedars
    and as strong as oaks.
I destroyed the fruit on their branches
    and dug out their roots.
10 It was I who rescued you from Egypt
    and led you through the desert for forty years,
    so you could possess the land of the Amorites.
11 I chose some of your sons to be prophets
    and others to be Nazirites.
Can you deny this, my people of Israel?”
    asks the Lord.
12 “But you caused the Nazirites to sin by making them drink wine,
    and you commanded the prophets, ‘Shut up!’

13 “So I will make you groan
    like a wagon loaded down with sheaves of grain.
14 Your fastest runners will not get away.
    The strongest among you will become weak.
Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves.
15     The archers will not stand their ground.
The swiftest runners won’t be fast enough to escape.
    Even those riding horses won’t be able to save themselves.
16 On that day the most courageous of your fighting men
    will drop their weapons and run for their lives,”
    says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 2:1 Hebrew have committed three sins, even four; also in 2:4, 6.
  2. 2:8 Or their God.