Amos 1
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
I. Editorial Introduction
Chapter 1
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] 2 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
3 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,
4 I will send fire upon the house of Hazael,
and it will devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad.[e](C)
5 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
6 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,
7 I will send fire upon the wall of Gaza,
and it will devour its strongholds;
8 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
9 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 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).
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.”
- 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).
- 1:11 Pursued his brother: “brother” here may denote a fellow vassal or subject of Israel.
- 1:12 Teman…Bozrah: two of the chief cities of Edom; cf. Jer 49:20.
- 1:14 Rabbah: now called Amman, the modern capital of Jordan.
Amos 1
New International Version
1 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)
2 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
3 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,
4 I will send fire(M) on the house of Hazael(N)
that will consume the fortresses(O) of Ben-Hadad.(P)
5 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)
6 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)
7 I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
that will consume her fortresses.
8 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)
9 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)
阿摩司書 1
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
1 猶大王烏西雅、約阿施的兒子以色列王耶羅波安執政期間,大地震前兩年,提哥亞的牧人阿摩司看到了關於以色列的異象。以下是阿摩司的話。
2 他說:
「耶和華在錫安[a]怒吼,
在耶路撒冷呼喊。
牧人的草場枯乾,
迦密山頂枯黃。」
對亞蘭的審判
3 耶和華說:
「大馬士革人三番四次地犯罪,
我必不收回對他們的懲罰,
因為他們用打糧食的鐵器蹂躪基列。
4 所以我要降火在哈薛王家,
燒毀便·哈達王的城堡。
5 我要折斷大馬士革城的門閂,
剷除亞文平原[b]的居民和伯·伊甸的掌權者,
使亞蘭人被擄到吉珥[c]。
這是耶和華說的。」
對非利士的審判
6 耶和華說:
「迦薩人三番四次地犯罪,
我必不收回對他們的懲罰,
因為他們把被擄之人全都帶走,
賣到以東做奴隸。
7 所以,我要降火在迦薩的城牆上,
燒毀它的城堡。
8 我要剷除亞實突的居民和亞實基倫的掌權者,
伸手攻擊以革倫,
剩下的非利士人都要滅亡。
這是主耶和華說的。」
對泰爾的審判
9 耶和華說:
「泰爾人三番四次地犯罪,
我必不收回對他們的懲罰,
因為他們背棄弟兄之盟,
把被擄之人都賣到以東。
10 所以,我要降火在泰爾的城牆上,
燒毀它的城堡。」
對以東的審判
11 耶和華說:
「以東人三番四次地犯罪,
我必不收回對他們的懲罰,
因為他們拔刀追趕自己的弟兄,
沒有半點憐憫之心;
他們怒氣不息,永懷憤怒。
12 所以,我要降火在提幔,
燒毀波斯拉的城堡。」
對亞捫的審判
13 耶和華說:
「亞捫人三番四次地犯罪,
我必不收回對他們的懲罰,
因為他們為了擴張領土,
竟剖開基列孕婦的肚腹。
14 所以,我要在戰爭的吶喊聲中,
在暴風雨吹襲的時候,
降火在拉巴的城牆上,
燒毀它的城堡。
15 他們的君王和首領都要被擄。
這是耶和華說的。」
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