Amos 1

International Children’s Bible

God Warns Israel to Stop Sinning

1 Amos was one of the shepherds from the town of Tekoa. God showed him this vision about Israel. It was at the time Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel. This happened two years before the earthquake.

²Amos said,

“The Lord will roar like a lion from Jerusalem.
His loud voice will sound like a growl from Jerusalem.
The green pastures of the shepherds will become dry.
Even Mount Carmel will dry up.”

Israel’s Neighbors Are Punished

The People of Aram

³This is what the Lord says:

“For the many crimes Damascus is doing,
    I will punish them.
They beat the people of Gilead
    with threshing boards that had iron teeth.
⁴So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael.
    That fire will destroy the strong towers of Ben-Hadad.
⁵I will break down the gate of Damascus.
    I will destroy the king who is in the Valley of Aven.
I will also destroy the king of Beth Eden.
    The people of Aram will be taken captive to the country of Kir,” says the Lord.

The People of Philistia

⁶This is what the Lord says:

“For the many crimes Gaza is doing,
    I will punish them.
They sold all the people of one area
    as slaves to Edom.
⁷So I will send a fire on the walls of Gaza.
    That fire will destroy the city’s strong towers.
⁸I will destroy the king of the city of Ashdod.
    I will destroy the king of the city of Ashkelon.
Then I will turn against the people of the city of Ekron.
    I will punish the Philistines until they are all dead,” says the Lord God.

The People of Phoenicia

⁹This is what the Lord says:

“For the many crimes Tyre is doing,
    I will punish them.
They sold all the people of one area
    as slaves to Edom.
    They forgot the brotherly agreement they had made with Israel.
¹⁰So I will send fire on the walls of Tyre.
    That fire will destroy the city’s strong towers.”

The People of Edom

¹¹This is what the Lord says:

“For the many crimes Edom is doing,
    I will punish them.
They hunted down their brothers, the Israelites, with the sword.
    They showed them no mercy.
The people of Edom were continually angry.
    And they did not hold back their great anger.
¹²So I will send fire on the city of Teman.
    That fire will even destroy the strong towers of Bozrah.”^[a]

The People of Ammon

¹³This is what the Lord says:

“For the many crimes Ammon is doing,
    I will punish them.
They ripped open the pregnant women in Gilead.
    They did this so they could take over that land
    and make their own country larger.
¹⁴So I will send fire on the walls of Rabbah.
    That fire will destroy the city’s strong towers.
It will come during a day of battle.
    There will be strong winds on a stormy day.
¹⁵Then their king and leaders will be captured.
    They will all be taken away together,” says the Lord.

Footnotes

1:12 Teman . . . Bozrah Teman was in northern Edom, and Bozrah was in southern Edom. So this means the whole country will be destroyed.

Amos 1

Tree of Life Version

The Lion Roars at the Nations

1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds from Tekoa. He perceived these words concerning Israel during the days of Uzziah, king of Judah, and during the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. ²He said:

Adonai roars from Zion,
From Jerusalem He gives His voice.
The shepherds’ pastures mourn,
and the top of Mount Carmel withers.
³Thus says Adonai:
For three crimes of Damascus,
    even for four, I will not relent.
For they threshed Gilead
    with iron threshing sledges,
⁴I will send fire into Hazael’s palace.
It will devour Ben-hadad’s citadels.
⁵I will break the Damascus gate-bar
and cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven,
    wielding Beth-eden’s scepter.
So the people of Aram
    will go into exile to Kir.
    Adonai has said it.
⁶Thus says Adonai:
“For three crimes of Gaza,
    even for four, I will not relent.
For they exiled an entire population,
    giving them over to Edom.
⁷So I will send fire on the wall of Gaza
—it will devour its citadels.
⁸I will cut off Ashdod’s inhabitant,
wielding Ashkelon’s scepter.
I will turn My hand against Ekron
and the rest of the Philistines will perish.
My Lord Adonai has said it.
⁹Thus says Adonai:
For three crimes of Tyre,
    even for four, I will not relent.
For they gave an entire population over to Edom,
and did not remember the covenant of brothers.
¹⁰I will send fire on the wall of Tyre—
it will devour its citadels.
¹¹Thus says Adonai:
For three crimes of Edom
    even for four, I will not relent.
For he pursued his brother with a sword
    and stifled his compassion.
For his anger tore continually,
    and he kept his wrath forever.
¹²So I will send fire in Teman—
it will devour Bozrah’s citadels.
¹³Thus says Adonai:
For three crimes of the sons of Ammon
    even for four, I will not relent.
For they ripped open pregnant women of Gilead
    to expand their territory,
¹⁴I will kindle fire on Rabbah’s wall
and it will devour its citadels,
amid shouting on a day of battle,
with storm on a day of whirlwind.
¹⁵Their king will go into exile,
he and his princes together.
Thus Adonai has said.

International Children’s Bible (ICB)

Tree of Life Version (TLV)

Amos 1 International Children’s Bible