Amos 1
Expanded Bible
1 These are the words of Amos, one of the shepherds from the town of Tekoa [C a small town in the highlands of Judah, ten miles south of Jerusalem]. ·He saw this vision about [L …which he saw concerning] Israel two years before the earthquake [Zech. 14:5]. ·It was at the time […L in the days when] Uzziah was king of Judah [C ruled 769–733 bc] and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel [C ruled 800–784 bc].
2 Amos said,
“The Lord will roar [Joel 3:16] from ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple];
he ·will send his voice [or thunders; bellows; L gives his voice] from Jerusalem.
The pastures of the shepherds will ·become dry [or mourn],
and even the top of Mount Carmel [9:3] will ·dry up [wither].”
Israel’s Neighbors Are Punished
The People of Aram
3 This is what the Lord says:
“For ·the many [L three, even four] ·crimes [sins; transgressions] of Damascus,
I will ·punish them [L not turn back/grant a reprieve].
They ·drove over [beat down; L threshed] the people of Gilead
with threshing boards ·that had iron teeth [L of iron].
4 So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael [C the royal dynasty of Syria (Aram), founded by Hazael (842–796 bc); 2 Kin. 8:7–15]
that will destroy the strong towers of Ben-Hadad [C either Hazael’s predecessor (whom he assassinated), or Hazael’s son, who took the same name].
5 I will break down the bar of the gate to Damascus [C the huge beam used to lock the gate]
and destroy the ·king who is in [or the inhabitants of; L the one who sits/dwells in] the Valley of ·Aven [or Wickedness; Hos. 4:15],
as well as the ·leader [L one who holds the scepter] of Beth Eden [C either Bit Adini, a city-state near the Euphrates, or a mocking name for Damascus, meaning “city of delight”].
The people of ·Aram [Syria] will be taken captive to the country of Kir [C where the Syrians originated (9:7); ironically, they would return there as captives; 2 Kin. 16:9],” says the Lord.
The People of Philistia
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For ·the many [L three, even four; v. 3] ·crimes [sins; transgressions] of Gaza,
I will ·punish them [L not turn back/grant a reprieve].
They sold ·all the people of one area [whole communities]
·as slaves [into captivity] to Edom.
7 So I will send a fire on the walls of Gaza
that will ·destroy [devour; consume] the city’s ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces].
8 I will destroy the ·king [or inhabitants; L the one who sits; v. 5] of the city of Ashdod,
as well as the ·leader [L one who holds the scepter] of Ashkelon.
Then I will turn [L my hand] against ·the people of the city of Ekron [L Ekron],
and the ·last [rest; remnant] of the Philistines will ·die [perish],” says the Lord God.
The People of Phoenicia
9 This is what the Lord says:
“For ·the many [L three, even four; vv. 3, 6] ·crimes [sins; transgressions] of Tyre,
I will ·punish them [L not turn back/grant a reprieve].
They sold ·all the people of one area [whole communities]
·as slaves to Edom [into captivity],
and they forgot the ·agreement among relatives they had made with Israel [L covenant/treaty of brotherhood].
10 So I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
that will ·destroy [devour; consume] the city’s ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces].”
The People of Edom
11 This is what the Lord says:
“For ·the many [L three, even four; vv. 3, 6, 9] ·crimes [sins; transgressions] of Edom,
I will ·punish them [L not turn back/grant a reprieve].
·They hunted down their relatives, the Israelites, [L He pursued his brother; C Esau (Edom) was the brother of Jacob/Israel and so the Israelites were related to the Edomites] with the sword,
·showing them no mercy [or wiping out their allies; or destroying their women].
·They were angry all the time [His anger raged unceasingly]
and ·kept on being very angry [L he preserved his wrath forever].
12 So I will send fire on the city of Teman
that will even ·destroy [consume; devour] the ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces] of Bozrah [C the whole country; Teman was in northern Edom and Bozrah in the south].”
The People of Ammon
13 This is what the Lord says:
“For ·the many [L three, even four; vv. 3, 6, 9, 11] ·crimes [sins; transgressions] of Ammon,
I will ·punish them [L not turn back/grant a reprieve].
They ripped open the pregnant women in Gilead
·so they could take over that land
and make their own country larger [L to enlarge their borders].
14 So I will send fire on the city wall of Rabbah
that will ·destroy [consume; devour] its ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces].
·It will come during [L Amid shouting/war cries on] a day of battle,
during a stormy day with ·strong winds [a whirlwind].
15 Then their king will be taken ·captive [into exile];
he and his ·leaders [officials; princes] will all be taken away together,” says the Lord.
Amos 1
King James Version
1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
2 And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.
3 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:
4 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.
5 I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the Lord.
6 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:
7 But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:
8 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God.
9 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:
10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.
11 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:
12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.
13 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:
14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:
15 And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the Lord.
Amos 1
Common English Bible
Introduction
1 These are the words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa. He perceived these things concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, in the days of Judah’s King Uzziah and in the days of Israel’s King Jeroboam, Joash’s son.
Proclamation of divine judgment
2 He said:
The Lord roars from Zion.
He shouts from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds wither,
and the top of Carmel dries up.
A word to Damascus
3 The Lord proclaims:
For three crimes of Damascus,
and for four, I won’t hold back the punishment,
because they have harvested Gilead
with sharp iron tools.
4 I will send down fire on the house of Hazael;
it will devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.
5 I will break the fortified gates of Damascus,
and eliminate the people from the Aven Valley,
including the one who rules from Beth-eden;
the people of Aram will be forced to live in Kir,
says the Lord.
A word to Gaza and Ashdod
6 The Lord proclaims:
For three crimes of Gaza,
and for four, I won’t hold back the punishment,
because they rounded up entire communities,
to hand them over to Edom.
7 I will send down a fire on the wall of Gaza;
it will devour Gaza’s palaces.
8 I will eliminate the people from Ashdod,
the one who rules from Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand against Ekron,
and the Philistines who remain will perish,
says the Lord God.
A word to Tyre
9 The Lord proclaims:
For three crimes of Tyre,
and for four, I won’t hold back the punishment,
because they have delivered up entire communities over to Edom,
and neglected their covenantal obligations.
10 So I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre;
it will devour their palaces.
A word to Edom
11 The Lord proclaims:
For three crimes of Edom,
and for four, I won’t hold back the punishment,
because he chased after his brother with the sword,
denied all compassion,
kept his anger alive,
and fueled his wrath forever.
12 So I will send a fire on Teman;
it will devour the fortresses of Bozrah.
A word to Ammon
13 The Lord proclaims:
For three crimes of the Ammonites,
and for four, I won’t hold back the punishment,
because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead
in order to possess more land.
14 So I will start a fire at the wall of Rabbah;
the fire will devour its palaces,
with a war cry on the day of battle,
with strong wind on the day of the storm.
15 Then their king will be taken away,
he and his officials together,
says the Lord.
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible