Amos 2:4-16
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Judgment on Judah
4 The Lord says:
I will not relent from punishing Judah(A)
for three crimes, even four,
because they have rejected the instruction of the Lord(B)
and have not kept His statutes.(C)
The lies(D) that their ancestors followed(E)
have led them astray.
5 Therefore, I will send fire(F) against Judah,
and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.
Judgment on Israel
6 The Lord says:
I will not relent from punishing Israel(G)
for three crimes, even four,
because they sell a righteous person for silver
and a needy person for a pair of sandals.(H)
7 They trample the heads of the poor(I)
on the dust of the ground
and block the path of the needy.(J)
A man and his father have sexual relations
with the same girl,(K)
profaning My holy name.(L)
8 They stretch out beside every altar(M)
on garments taken as collateral,(N)
and in the house of their God,
they drink wine obtained through fines.(O)
9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite(P) as Israel advanced;
his height(Q) was like the cedars,
and he was as sturdy as the oaks;
I destroyed his fruit(R) above and his roots beneath.
10 And I brought you from the land of Egypt(S)
and led you 40 years in the wilderness(T)
in order to possess the land of the Amorite.(U)
11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets(V)
and some of your young men as Nazirites.(W)
Is this not the case, Israelites?
This is the Lord’s declaration.
12 But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets,
“Do not prophesy.”(X)
13 Look, I am about to crush[a] you in your place(Y)
as a wagon full of sheaves crushes grain.
14 Escape will fail the swift,(Z)
the strong one will not prevail by his strength,(AA)
and the brave will not save his life.
15 The archer will not stand his ground,(AB)
the one who is swift of foot
will not save himself,
and the one riding a horse will not save his life.(AC)
16 Even the most courageous of the warriors
will flee naked on that day(AD)—
this is the Lord’s declaration.
Footnotes
- Amos 2:13 Or hinder; Hb obscure
Amos 2:4-16
New Living Translation
God’s Judgment on Judah and Israel
4 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Judah have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They have rejected the instruction of the Lord,
refusing to obey his decrees.
They have been led astray by the same lies
that deceived their ancestors.
5 So I will send down fire on Judah,
and all the fortresses of Jerusalem will be destroyed.”
6 This is what the Lord says:
“The people of Israel have sinned again and again,
and I will not let them go unpunished!
They sell honorable people for silver
and poor people for a pair of sandals.
7 They trample helpless people in the dust
and shove the oppressed out of the way.
Both father and son sleep with the same woman,
corrupting my holy name.
8 At their religious festivals,
they lounge in clothing their debtors put up as security.
In the house of their gods,[a]
they drink wine bought with unjust fines.
9 “But as my people watched,
I destroyed the Amorites,
though they were as tall as cedars
and as strong as oaks.
I destroyed the fruit on their branches
and dug out their roots.
10 It was I who rescued you from Egypt
and led you through the desert for forty years,
so you could possess the land of the Amorites.
11 I chose some of your sons to be prophets
and others to be Nazirites.
Can you deny this, my people of Israel?”
asks the Lord.
12 “But you caused the Nazirites to sin by making them drink wine,
and you commanded the prophets, ‘Shut up!’
13 “So I will make you groan
like a wagon loaded down with sheaves of grain.
14 Your fastest runners will not get away.
The strongest among you will become weak.
Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves.
15 The archers will not stand their ground.
The swiftest runners won’t be fast enough to escape.
Even those riding horses won’t be able to save themselves.
16 On that day the most courageous of your fighting men
will drop their weapons and run for their lives,”
says the Lord.
Footnotes
- 2:8 Or their God.
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
