Amos 2:4-16
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Judgment on Judah
4 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[a]
because they have rejected the instruction of the Lord
and have not kept his statutes,
but they have been led astray by the same lies
after which their ancestors walked.(A)
5 So I will send a fire on Judah,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.(B)
Judgment on Israel
6 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[b]
because they sell the righteous for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals—(C)
7 they who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth
and push the afflicted out of the way;
father and son go in to the same young woman,
so that my holy name is profaned;(D)
8 they lay themselves down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge;
and in the house of their God they drink
wine bought with fines they imposed.(E)
9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them,
whose height was like the height of cedars
and who was as strong as oaks;
I destroyed his fruit above
and his roots beneath.(F)
10 Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt
and led you forty years in the wilderness,
to possess the land of the Amorite.(G)
11 And I raised up some of your children to be prophets
and some of your youths to be nazirites.
Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?
says the Lord.(H)
12 But you made the nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets,
saying, “You shall not prophesy.”(I)
13 So, I will press you down in your place,
just as a cart presses down
when it is full of sheaves.[c](J)
14 Flight shall perish from the swift,
and the strong shall not retain their strength,
nor shall the mighty save their lives;(K)
15 those who handle the bow shall not stand,
and those who are swift of foot shall not save themselves,
nor shall those who ride horses save their lives;(L)
16 and those who are stout of heart among the mighty
shall flee away naked on that day,
says the Lord.(M)
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.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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.
