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Guds dom över Israels grannfolk

Amos var herde och bodde i Tekoa. En dag talade Gud till honom i en syn och lät honom se vad som skulle hända med hans folk. Han fick denna syn två år före jordbävningen, när Ussia var kung i Juda och Joas son Jerobeam var kung i Israel.

Detta är vad han såg och hörde: Herren talade från templet på berget Sion, och det lät som när ett lejon ryter. Och plötsligt vissnade och torkade alla betesmarker på berget Karmel till herdarnas stora sorg.

Herren sa: Folket i Damaskus har syndat gång på gång, och jag kan inte glömma det. Jag ska inte längre avhålla mig från att straffa staden. Folket där har farit alltför hårt fram med mitt folk i Gilead. De har tröskat dem som säd med sitt förtryck av dem.

Därför ska jag låta kung Hasaels slott brinna ner och förstöra Ben-Hadads starka fästningar.

Jag ska bryta sönder bommen på Damaskus stadsport och döda kungarna i Aven, och Bet-Eden och Arams folk ska återvända till Kir som slavar. Herren har talat.

Herren säger: Gasa har syndat gång på gång, och jag tänker inte glömma det. Jag ska inte låta det bli ostraffat, för folket där skickade mitt folk i landsflykt och sålde dem som slavar i Edom.

Därför ska jag sätta eld på Gasas murar, och riva ner dess befästningar.

Jag tänker döda kungarna i Asdod och Askelon, och jag ska utplåna Ekron och filisteerna till sista man. Herren har talat.

Herren säger: Folket i Tyrus har begått så många brott att jag inte kan glömma det. Jag ska inte längre låta dem vara ostraffade, för de bröt överenskommelsen om vänskap med sin bror Israel. De anföll och besegrade honom och förde bort honom i slaveri till Edom.

10 Därför ska jag sätta eld på Tyrus murar, och stadens alla palats och befästningar ska brinna ner.

11 Herren säger: Edom har syndat gång på gång, och jag tänker inte glömma det. Jag ska inte låta honom gå ostraffad längre, för han jagade sin bror Israel med svärd. Han var obarmhärtig i sin grymhet.

12 Därför ska jag sätta eld på Teman och bränna ner Bosras alla fästningar.

13 Herren säger: Ammons folk har syndat gång på gång, och jag tänker inte glömma det. Jag ska inte längre låta dem förbli ostraffade.Under krigen i Gilead, då de ville utvidga sina gränser, begick de fruktansvärda brott. De sprättade upp havande kvinnor med sina svärd.

14 Därför ska jag sätta eld på Rabbas murar och bränna ner dess befästningar. Striderna ska bli hårda och skriken höras långt.

15 Rabbas kung och furstar måste gå i landsflykt. Herren har talat.

I. Editorial Introduction

Chapter 1

The words of Amos, who was one of the sheepbreeders from Tekoa,(A) which he received in a vision concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam, son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.[a] He said:

The Lord roars from Zion,[b]
    and raises his voice from Jerusalem;
The pastures of the shepherds languish,
    and the summit of Carmel withers.(B)

II. Oracles Against the Nations[c]

Aram

Thus says the Lord:

For three crimes of Damascus, and now four—[d]
    I will not take it back—
Because they threshed Gilead
    with sledges of iron,
I will send fire upon the house of Hazael,
    and it will devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.[e](C)
I will break the barred gate of Damascus;
    From the Valley of Aven[f] I will cut off the one enthroned,
And the sceptered ruler from Beth-eden;
    the people of Aram shall be exiled to Kir,(D) says the Lord.

Philistia

Thus says the Lord:

For three crimes of Gaza, and now four—
    I will not take it back—
Because they exiled an entire population,
    handing them over to Edom,
I will send fire upon the wall of Gaza,
    and it will devour its strongholds;
From Ashdod I will cut off the one enthroned
    and the sceptered ruler from Ashkelon;
I will turn my hand against Ekron,
    and the last of the Philistines shall perish,
    says the Lord God.

Tyre

Thus says the Lord:

For three crimes of Tyre, and now four—
    I will not take it back—
Because they handed over an entire population to Edom,
    and did not remember their covenant of brotherhood,[g]
10 I will send fire upon the wall of Tyre,
    and it will devour its strongholds.

Edom

11 Thus says the Lord:

For three crimes of Edom, and now four—
    I will not take it back—
Because he pursued his brother[h] with the sword,
    suppressing all pity,
Persisting in his anger,
    his wrath raging without end,
12 I will send fire upon Teman,
    and it will devour the strongholds of Bozrah.[i]

Ammon

13 Thus says the Lord:

For three crimes of the Ammonites, and now four—
    I will not take it back—
Because they ripped open pregnant women in Gilead,(E)
    in order to extend their territory,
14 I will kindle a fire upon the wall of Rabbah,[j]
    and it will devour its strongholds
Amid war cries on the day of battle,
    amid stormwind on the day of tempest.
15 Their king shall go into exile,
    he and his princes with him, says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. 1:1 The earthquake: a major earthquake during the reign of Uzziah (ca. 783–742 B.C.), so devastating that it was remembered long afterwards (cf. Zec 14:5). See the description of an earthquake in Amos’s final vision (9:1).
  2. 1:2 Significantly, the roar comes to the Northern Kingdom from Jerusalem. This verse, perhaps an editorial remark, sets the tone of Amos’s message.
  3. 1:3–2:16 All the nations mentioned here may have been part of the ideal empire of David-Solomon (cf. 1 Kgs 5:1; 2 Kgs 14:25). Certain standards of conduct were expected not only in their relations with Israel but also with one another.
  4. 1:3 For three crimes…and now four: this formula (n, n + 1) is frequent in poetry (e.g., Prv 6:16–19; 30:18–19). The progression “three” followed by “four” here suggests a climax. The fourth crime is one too many and exhausts the Lord’s forbearance.
  5. 1:4 Hazael…Ben-hadad: kings of the Arameans whose capital was Damascus (v. 5); they fought against Israel (2 Kgs 13:3) and had long occupied the region of Gilead (v. 3) in Transjordan.
  6. 1:5 Valley of Aven: lit., “valley of wickedness,” perhaps a distortion of a place name in Aramean territory, identity unknown. Beth-eden: an Aramean city-state on the Euphrates, about two hundred miles northeast of Damascus, called Bit-adini in Assyro-Babylonian texts. Kir: cf. 9:7; probably to be identified with the city of Emar on the Euphrates, a major Aramean center in the Late Bronze Age. One text from this site calls the king of Emar “the king of the people of the land of Kir.”
  7. 1:9 Did not remember their covenant of brotherhood: standard diplomatic language of this period, meaning “violated the treaty.” The violation may not have been against Israel itself but against a fellow “subject” nation of the ideal Davidic-Solomonic empire (cf. 2:1).
  8. 1:11 Pursued his brother: “brother” here may denote a fellow vassal or subject of Israel.
  9. 1:12 Teman…Bozrah: two of the chief cities of Edom; cf. Jer 49:20.
  10. 1:14 Rabbah: now called Amman, the modern capital of Jordan.

The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa(A)—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake,(B) when Uzziah(C) was king of Judah and Jeroboam(D) son of Jehoash[a] was king of Israel.(E)

He said:

“The Lord roars(F) from Zion
    and thunders(G) from Jerusalem;(H)
the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
    and the top of Carmel(I) withers.”(J)

Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Damascus,(K)
    even for four, I will not relent.(L)
Because she threshed Gilead
    with sledges having iron teeth,
I will send fire(M) on the house of Hazael(N)
    that will consume the fortresses(O) of Ben-Hadad.(P)
I will break down the gate(Q) of Damascus;
    I will destroy the king who is in[b] the Valley of Aven[c]
and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.(R)
    The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,(S)
says the Lord.(T)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Gaza,(U)
    even for four, I will not relent.(V)
Because she took captive whole communities
    and sold them to Edom,(W)
I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
    that will consume her fortresses.
I will destroy the king[d] of Ashdod(X)
    and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand(Y) against Ekron,
    till the last of the Philistines(Z) are dead,”(AA)
says the Sovereign Lord.(AB)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Tyre,(AC)
    even for four, I will not relent.(AD)
Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,
    disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,(AE)
10 I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
    that will consume her fortresses.(AF)

11 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Edom,(AG)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued his brother with a sword(AH)
    and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
    and his fury flamed unchecked,(AI)
12 I will send fire on Teman(AJ)
    that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.(AK)

13 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Ammon,(AL)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he ripped open the pregnant women(AM) of Gilead
    in order to extend his borders,
14 I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah(AN)
    that will consume(AO) her fortresses
amid war cries(AP) on the day of battle,
    amid violent winds(AQ) on a stormy day.
15 Her king[e] will go into exile,
    he and his officials together,(AR)
says the Lord.(AS)

Footnotes

  1. Amos 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash
  2. Amos 1:5 Or the inhabitants of
  3. Amos 1:5 Aven means wickedness.
  4. Amos 1:8 Or inhabitants
  5. Amos 1:15 Or / Molek