Amos 2:5-4:9

New King James Version

⁵^(A)But I will send a fire upon Judah,
And it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”

Judgment on Israel

⁶Thus says the Lord:

“For three transgressions of ^(B)Israel, and for four,
I will not turn away its punishment,
Because ^(C)they sell the righteous for silver,
And the ^(D)poor for a pair of sandals.
⁷They ^[a]pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor,
And ^(E)pervert the way of the humble.
^(F)A man and his father go in to the same girl,
^(G)To defile My holy name.
⁸They lie down ^(H)by every altar on clothes ^(I)taken in pledge,
And drink the wine of ^[b]the condemned in the house of their god.

⁹“Yet it was I who destroyed the ^(J)Amorite before them,
Whose height was like the ^(K)height of the cedars,
And he was as strong as the oaks;
Yet I ^(L)destroyed his fruit above
And his roots beneath.
¹⁰Also it was ^(M)I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,
And ^(N)led you forty years through the wilderness,
To possess the land of the Amorite.
¹¹I raised up some of your sons as ^(O)prophets,
And some of your young men as ^(P)Nazirites.
Is it not so, O you children of Israel?”
Says the Lord.
¹²“But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,
And commanded the prophets ^(Q)saying,
‘Do not prophesy!’

¹³“Behold,^(R) I am ^[c]weighed down by you,
As a cart full of sheaves ^[d]is weighed down.
¹⁴^(S)Therefore ^[e]flight shall perish from the swift,
The strong shall not strengthen his power,
^(T)Nor shall the mighty ^[f]deliver himself;
¹⁵He shall not stand who handles the bow,
The swift of foot shall not ^[g]escape,
Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.
¹⁶The most ^[h]courageous men of might
Shall flee naked in that day,”
Says the Lord.

Authority of the Prophet’s Message

3 Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying:

²“You^(U) only have I known of all the families of the earth;
^(V)Therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.”

³Can two walk together, unless they are agreed?
⁴Will a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey?
Will a young lion ^[i]cry out of his den, if he has caught nothing?
⁵Will a bird fall into a snare on the earth, where there is no ^[j]trap for it?
Will a snare spring up from the earth, if it has caught nothing at all?
⁶If a ^[k]trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid?
^(W)If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it?

⁷Surely the Lord God does nothing,
Unless ^(X)He reveals His secret to His servants the prophets.
⁸A lion has roared!
Who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken!
^(Y)Who can but prophesy?

Punishment of Israel’s Sins

⁹“Proclaim in the palaces at ^[l]Ashdod,
And in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say:
‘Assemble on the mountains of Samaria;
See great tumults in her midst,
And the ^[m]oppressed within her.
¹⁰For they ^(Z)do not know to do right,’
Says the Lord,
‘Who store up violence and ^[n]robbery in their palaces.’ ”

¹¹Therefore thus says the Lord God:

“An adversary shall be all around the land;
He shall sap your strength from you,
And your palaces shall be plundered.”

¹²Thus says the Lord:

“As a shepherd ^[o]takes from the mouth of a lion
Two legs or a piece of an ear,
So shall the children of Israel be taken out
Who dwell in Samaria—
In the corner of a bed and ^[p]on the edge of a couch!
¹³Hear and testify against the house of Jacob,”
Says the Lord God, the God of hosts,
¹⁴“That in the day I punish Israel for their transgressions,
I will also visit destruction on the altars of ^(AA)Bethel;
And the horns of the altar shall be cut off
And fall to the ground.
¹⁵I will ^[q]destroy ^(AB)the winter house along with ^(AC)the summer house;
The ^(AD)houses of ivory shall perish,
And the great houses shall have an end,”
Says the Lord.

God’s Punishments Have Not Reformed Israel

4 Hear this word, you ^(AE)cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria,
Who oppress the ^(AF)poor,
Who crush the needy,
Who say to ^[r]your husbands, “Bring wine, let us ^(AG)drink!”
²^(AH)The Lord God has sworn by His holiness:
“Behold, the days shall come upon you
When He will take you away ^(AI)with fishhooks,
And your posterity with fishhooks.
³^(AJ)You will go out through broken walls,
Each one straight ahead of her,
And you will ^[s]be cast into Harmon,”
Says the Lord.

⁴“Come^(AK) to Bethel and transgress,
At ^(AL)Gilgal multiply transgression;
^(AM)Bring your sacrifices every morning,
^(AN)Your tithes every three ^[t]days.
⁵^(AO)Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,
Proclaim and announce ^(AP)the freewill offerings;
For this you love,
You children of Israel!”
Says the Lord God.

Israel Did Not Accept Correction

⁶“Also I gave you ^[u]cleanness of teeth in all your cities,
And lack of bread in all your places;
^(AQ)Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.

⁷“I also withheld rain from you,
When there were still three months to the harvest.
I made it rain on one city,
I withheld rain from another city.
One part was rained upon,
And where it did not rain the part withered.
⁸So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water,
But they were not satisfied;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.

⁹“I^(AR) blasted you with blight and mildew.
When your gardens increased,
Your vineyards,
Your fig trees,
And your olive trees,
^(AS)The locust devoured them;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.