Amos 2
Living Bible
2 The Lord says, “The people of Moab have sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not leave them unpunished anymore. For they desecrated the tombs of the kings of Edom, with no respect for the dead. 2 Now in return I will send fire upon Moab, and it will destroy all the palaces in Kerioth. Moab shall go down in tumult as the warriors shout and trumpets blare. 3 And I will destroy their king and slay all the leaders under him.” The Lord has spoken.
4 The Lord says, “The people of Judah have sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not leave them unpunished anymore. For they have rejected the laws of God, refusing to obey him. They have hardened their hearts and sinned as their fathers did. 5 So I will destroy Judah with fire and burn down all Jerusalem’s palaces and forts.”
6 The Lord says, “The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not forget it. I will not leave them unpunished anymore. For they have perverted justice by accepting bribes and sold into slavery the poor who can’t repay their debts; they trade them for a pair of shoes. 7 They trample the poor in the dust and kick aside the meek.
“And a man and his father defile the same temple girl, corrupting my holy name. 8 At their religious feasts they lounge in clothing stolen from their debtors, and in my own Temple they offer sacrifices of wine they purchased with stolen money.
9 “Yet think of all I did for them! I cleared the land of the Amorites before them—the Amorites, as tall as cedar trees, and strong as oaks! But I lopped off their fruit and cut their roots. 10 And I brought you out from Egypt and led you through the desert forty years, to possess the land of the Amorites. 11 And I chose your sons to be Nazirites[a] and prophets—can you deny this, Israel?” asks the Lord. 12 “But you caused the Nazirites to sin by urging them to drink your wine, and you silenced my prophets, telling them, ‘Shut up!’
13 “Therefore, I will make you groan as a wagon groans that is loaded with sheaves. 14 Your swiftest warriors will stumble in flight. The strong will all be weak, and the great ones can no longer save themselves. 15 The archer’s aim will fail, the swiftest runners won’t be fast enough to flee, and even the best of horsemen can’t outrun the danger then. 16 The most courageous of your mighty men will drop their weapons and run for their lives that day.” The Lord God has spoken.
Footnotes
- Amos 2:11 to be Nazirites, see Numbers 6.
Amos 2
English Standard Version
2 Thus says the Lord:
(A)“For three transgressions of (B)Moab,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[a]
because (C)he burned to lime
the bones of the king of Edom.
2 So I will send a fire upon Moab,
and it shall devour the strongholds of (D)Kerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
3 (E)I will cut off the ruler from its midst,
and will kill (F)all its princes[b] with him,”
says the Lord.
Judgment on Judah
4 Thus says the Lord:
(G)“For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because (H)they have rejected the law of the Lord,
and have not kept his statutes,
but (I)their lies have led them astray,
those after which their fathers walked.
5 So (J)I will send a fire upon Judah,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”
Judgment on Israel
6 Thus says the Lord:
(K)“For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because (L)they sell the righteous for (M)silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals—
7 those who trample the head of the poor (N)into the dust of the earth
and (O)turn aside the way of the afflicted;
(P)a man and his father go in to the same girl,
so that my holy name is profaned;
8 they lay themselves down beside every altar
on garments (Q)taken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
the wine of those who have been fined.
9 “Yet (R)it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
(S)whose height was like the height of the cedars
and who was as strong as the oaks;
(T)I destroyed his fruit above
and his roots beneath.
10 (U)Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
(V)and led you forty years in the wilderness,
(W)to possess the land of the Amorite.
11 And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
and some of your young men for (X)Nazirites.
Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites (Y)drink wine,
and commanded the prophets,
saying, (Z)‘You shall not prophesy.’
13 “Behold, I will press you down in your place,
as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
14 (AA)Flight shall perish from the swift,
(AB)and the strong shall not retain his strength,
(AC)nor shall the mighty save his life;
15 he who handles the bow shall not stand,
and he who is (AD)swift of foot shall not save himself,
(AE)nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;
16 and he who is stout of heart among the mighty
shall flee away naked in that day,”
declares the Lord.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
