The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa(A)—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake,(B) when Uzziah(C) was king of Judah and Jeroboam(D) son of Jehoash[a] was king of Israel.(E)

He said:

“The Lord roars(F) from Zion
    and thunders(G) from Jerusalem;(H)
the pastures of the shepherds dry up,
    and the top of Carmel(I) withers.”(J)

Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Damascus,(K)
    even for four, I will not relent.(L)
Because she threshed Gilead
    with sledges having iron teeth,
I will send fire(M) on the house of Hazael(N)
    that will consume the fortresses(O) of Ben-Hadad.(P)
I will break down the gate(Q) of Damascus;
    I will destroy the king who is in[b] the Valley of Aven[c]
and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.(R)
    The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,(S)
says the Lord.(T)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Gaza,(U)
    even for four, I will not relent.(V)
Because she took captive whole communities
    and sold them to Edom,(W)
I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
    that will consume her fortresses.
I will destroy the king[d] of Ashdod(X)
    and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand(Y) against Ekron,
    till the last of the Philistines(Z) are dead,”(AA)
says the Sovereign Lord.(AB)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Tyre,(AC)
    even for four, I will not relent.(AD)
Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,
    disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,(AE)
10 I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
    that will consume her fortresses.(AF)

11 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Edom,(AG)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he pursued his brother with a sword(AH)
    and slaughtered the women of the land,
because his anger raged continually
    and his fury flamed unchecked,(AI)
12 I will send fire on Teman(AJ)
    that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.(AK)

13 This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Ammon,(AL)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he ripped open the pregnant women(AM) of Gilead
    in order to extend his borders,
14 I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah(AN)
    that will consume(AO) her fortresses
amid war cries(AP) on the day of battle,
    amid violent winds(AQ) on a stormy day.
15 Her king[e] will go into exile,
    he and his officials together,(AR)
says the Lord.(AS)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Moab,(AT)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes(AU)
    the bones of Edom’s king,
I will send fire on Moab
    that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.[f](AV)
Moab will go down in great tumult
    amid war cries(AW) and the blast of the trumpet.(AX)
I will destroy her ruler(AY)
    and kill all her officials with him,”(AZ)
says the Lord.(BA)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Judah,(BB)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law(BC) of the Lord
    and have not kept his decrees,(BD)
because they have been led astray(BE) by false gods,[g](BF)
    the gods[h] their ancestors followed,(BG)
I will send fire(BH) on Judah
    that will consume the fortresses(BI) of Jerusalem.(BJ)

Judgment on Israel

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Israel,
    even for four, I will not relent.(BK)
They sell the innocent for silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals.(BL)
They trample on the heads of the poor
    as on the dust of the ground
    and deny justice to the oppressed.
Father and son use the same girl
    and so profane my holy name.(BM)
They lie down beside every altar
    on garments taken in pledge.(BN)
In the house of their god
    they drink wine(BO) taken as fines.(BP)

“Yet I destroyed the Amorites(BQ) before them,
    though they were tall(BR) as the cedars
    and strong as the oaks.(BS)
I destroyed their fruit above
    and their roots(BT) below.
10 I brought you up out of Egypt(BU)
    and led(BV) you forty years in the wilderness(BW)
    to give you the land of the Amorites.(BX)

11 “I also raised up prophets(BY) from among your children
    and Nazirites(BZ) from among your youths.
Is this not true, people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine
    and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.(CA)

13 “Now then, I will crush you
    as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.(CB)
14 The swift will not escape,(CC)
    the strong(CD) will not muster their strength,
    and the warrior will not save his life.(CE)
15 The archer(CF) will not stand his ground,
    the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
    and the horseman(CG) will not save his life.(CH)
16 Even the bravest warriors(CI)
    will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.

Witnesses Summoned Against Israel

Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you(CJ)—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:(CK)

“You only have I chosen(CL)
    of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish(CM) you
    for all your sins.(CN)

Do two walk together
    unless they have agreed to do so?
Does a lion roar(CO) in the thicket
    when it has no prey?(CP)
Does it growl in its den
    when it has caught nothing?
Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
    when no bait(CQ) is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
    if it has not caught anything?
When a trumpet(CR) sounds in a city,
    do not the people tremble?
When disaster(CS) comes to a city,
    has not the Lord caused it?(CT)

Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
    without revealing his plan(CU)
    to his servants the prophets.(CV)

The lion(CW) has roared(CX)
    who will not fear?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
    who can but prophesy?(CY)

Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod(CZ)
    and to the fortresses of Egypt:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;(DA)
    see the great unrest within her
    and the oppression among her people.”

10 “They do not know how to do right,(DB)” declares the Lord,
    “who store up in their fortresses(DC)
    what they have plundered(DD) and looted.”

11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“An enemy will overrun your land,
    pull down your strongholds
    and plunder your fortresses.(DE)

12 This is what the Lord says:

“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s(DF) mouth
    only two leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued,
    with only the head of a bed
    and a piece of fabric[i] from a couch.[j](DG)

13 “Hear this and testify(DH) against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.

14 “On the day I punish(DI) Israel for her sins,
    I will destroy the altars of Bethel;(DJ)
the horns(DK) of the altar will be cut off
    and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house(DL)
    along with the summer house;(DM)
the houses adorned with ivory(DN) will be destroyed
    and the mansions(DO) will be demolished,(DP)
declares the Lord.(DQ)

Footnotes

  1. Amos 1:1 Hebrew Joash, a variant of Jehoash
  2. Amos 1:5 Or the inhabitants of
  3. Amos 1:5 Aven means wickedness.
  4. Amos 1:8 Or inhabitants
  5. Amos 1:15 Or / Molek
  6. Amos 2:2 Or of her cities
  7. Amos 2:4 Or by lies
  8. Amos 2:4 Or lies
  9. Amos 3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  10. Amos 3:12 Or Israelites be rescued, / those who sit in Samaria / on the edge of their beds / and in Damascus on their couches.

The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning 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.

And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:

But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.

I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:

But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:

And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:

10 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.

11 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:

12 But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.

13 Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:

14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:

15 And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:

But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kirioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:

And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the Lord.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;

That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:

And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

10 Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.

11 And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the Lord.

12 But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

13 Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.

14 Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:

15 Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.

16 And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the Lord.

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

You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.

Can two walk together, except they be agreed?

Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?

Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?

Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?

Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?

Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof.

10 For they know not to do right, saith the Lord, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.

11 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled.

12 Thus saith the Lord; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch.

13 Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God, the God of hosts,

14 That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.

15 And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the Lord.