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
Amplified Bible
Judgment on Neighboring Nations
1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders of [a]Tekoa, which he saw [in a divine revelation] concerning [b]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.(A)
2
And he said,
“The Lord thunders and roars from Zion [in judgment]
And utters His voice from Jerusalem;
Then the pastures of the shepherds mourn,
And the summit of [Mount] Carmel dries up [because of God’s judgment].”(B)
3
Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Damascus and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I shall not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,
Because they have threshed Gilead [east of the Jordan River] with sharp iron sledges [having spikes that crushed and shredded].(C)
4
“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon the house of [c]Hazael,
And it shall devour the palaces and strongholds of [d]Ben-hadad (Hazael’s son).
5
“I also will break the bar [of the gate] of Damascus,
And cut off and destroy the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven (Wickedness),
And the ruler who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden (Damascus);
And the people of Aram [conquered by the Assyrians] will go into exile to [e]Kir,”
Says the Lord.(D)
6
Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Gaza [in Philistia] and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,
Because [as slave traders] they took captive the entire [Jewish] population [of defenseless Judean border villages, of which none was spared]
And deported them to Edom [for the slave trade].(E)
7
“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Gaza
And it shall consume her citadels.
8
“And I will cut off and destroy the inhabitants from Ashdod,
And the ruler who holds the scepter, from Ashkelon;
And I will unleash My power and turn My hand [in judgment] against Ekron,
And the rest of the Philistines [in Gath and the towns dependent on these four Philistine cities] shall die,”
Says the Lord God.(F)
9
Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Tyre and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,
Because they [as middlemen] deported an entire [Jewish] population to Edom
And did not [seriously] remember their covenant of brotherhood.(G)
10
“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Tyre,
And it shall consume her citadels.”
11
Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Edom [the descendants of Esau] and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,
Because he pursued his brother Jacob (Israel) with the sword,
Corrupting and stifling his compassions and casting off all mercy;
His destructive anger raged continually,
And he maintained [and nurtured] his wrath forever.
12
“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon Teman,
And it shall consume the citadels of Bozrah [in Edom].”
13
Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of the children of [f]Ammon and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,
Because the Ammonites have ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead,
That they might enlarge their border.
14
“So I will kindle a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Rabbah [in Ammon]
And it shall devour its strongholds
Amid war cries and shouts of alarm on the day of battle,
And a tempest on the day of the whirlwind [when the enemy captures the city].
15
“Their king shall go into exile,
He and his princes together,” says the Lord.
Footnotes
- Amos 1:1 Tekoa was a small town in Judah about 10 miles south of Jerusalem.
- Amos 1:1 Amos was from the Southern Kingdom, Judah, but his message of divine judgment was primarily directed to the Northern Kingdom, Israel.
- Amos 1:4 Hazael ruled from Damascus (842-796 b.c.) as king of Aram (Syria). He was an important official in the court of Hadadezer whom he assassinated and then succeeded.
- Amos 1:4 Ben-hadad succeeded his father and ruled from 796-775 b.c.
- Amos 1:5 Perhaps back to the homeland of the Arameans (Syrians). Its location is uncertain.
- Amos 1:13 Descendants of Ben-ammi, the son born to Lot and his younger daughter (Gen 19:30-38).
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