The words of Amos, who was one of the sheep breeders[a](A) from Tekoa(B)—what he saw regarding Israel in the days of Uzziah,(C) king of Judah, and Jeroboam(D) son of Jehoash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.(E)

He said:

The Lord roars(F) from Zion
and raises His voice from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds mourn,[b](G)
and the summit of Carmel(H) withers.

Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors

The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Damascus(I)
for three crimes, even four,(J)
because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges.
Therefore, I will send fire against Hazael’s palace,
and it will consume Ben-hadad’s(K) citadels.
I will break down the gates[c](L) of Damascus.
I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven,
and the one who wields the scepter from Beth-eden.
The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir.(M)
The Lord has spoken.

The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Gaza(N)
for three crimes, even four,
because they exiled a whole community,
handing them over to Edom.
Therefore, I will send fire against the walls of Gaza,
and it will consume its citadels.
I will cut off the ruler from Ashdod,(O)
and the one who wields the scepter from Ashkelon.(P)
I will also turn My hand against Ekron,
and the remainder of the Philistines(Q) will perish.
The Lord God has spoken.

The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Tyre(R)
for three crimes, even four,
because they handed over
a whole community of exiles to Edom
and broke[d] a treaty of brotherhood.(S)
10 Therefore, I will send fire(T) against the walls of Tyre,
and it will consume its citadels.

11 The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Edom(U)
for three crimes, even four,
because he pursued his brother with the sword.(V)
He stifled his compassion,
his anger tore at them(W) continually,
and he harbored his rage incessantly.
12 Therefore, I will send fire against Teman,(X)
and it will consume the citadels of Bozrah.

13 The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing the Ammonites(Y)
for three crimes, even four,
because they ripped open
the pregnant women of Gilead(Z)
in order to enlarge their territory.(AA)
14 Therefore, I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah,(AB)
and it will consume its citadels.
There will be shouting on the day of battle(AC)
and a violent wind on the day of the storm.(AD)
15 Their king and his princes
will go into exile together.(AE)
The Lord has spoken.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 1:1 Or the shepherds
  2. Amos 1:2 Or dry up
  3. Amos 1:5 Lit gate bars
  4. Amos 1:9 Lit and did not remember

Amos is Called to Prophesy

The words of Amos,[a] who was among the sheep breeders of Tekoa, which he spoke[b] concerning Israel during the reign of[c] Uzziah, king of Judah and during the reign of[d] Joash’s son Jeroboam, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

He said, “From Zion the Lord roars,
    and from Jerusalem he shouts aloud.
The shepherds’ pastures will languish,
    and Carmel’s summit will wither.”

A Warning to Damascus

This is what the Lord says:

“For three transgressions of Damascus
    —and now for a fourth—
        I will not turn away;
because they have trampled down[e] Gilead
    with ironclad threshing sleds.
So I will send down fire upon the house of Hazael,
    and it will devour the palaces of Ben-hadad.
I will shatter the gate bars of Damascus,
    and I will cut off the residents of the Aven Valley,
along with the one who holds the scepter from Beth-eden;
    and the people of Aram will be exiled to Kir,”
        says the Lord.

A Warning to Gaza

This is what the Lord says:

“For three transgressions of Gaza
    —and now for a fourth—
        I will not turn away;
because they exiled the entire population,
    delivering them to Edom.
So I will send down fire upon the wall of Gaza,
    and it will devour their fortified citadels;
and I will cut off the inhabitants of Ashdod,
    along with Ashkelon’s ruler.[f]
I will turn to attack[g] Ekron,
    and the rest of the Philistines will die,”
        says the Lord God.

A Warning to Tyre

This is what the Lord says:

“For three transgressions of Tyre
    —and now for a fourth—
        I will not turn away;
because they delivered the entire population to Edom,
    and did not remember their covenant with their relatives.[h]
10 So I will send down fire upon the wall of Tyre,
    and it will devour their fortified citadels.”

A Warning to Edom

11 This is what the Lord says:

“For three transgressions of Edom
    —and now for a fourth—
        I will not turn away;
because he[i] pursued his brother with a sword,
    refusing to be compassionate.[j]
His anger was raging[k] continuously;
    he kept up his unending wrath.
12 So I will send down fire upon Teman,
    and it will devour the fortified citadels of Bozrah.”

A Warning to Ammon

13 This is what the Lord says:

“For three transgressions of the Ammonites
    —and now for a fourth—
        I will not turn away;
because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead
    in order to enlarge their national borders.[l]
14 So I will send down fire upon the wall of Rabbah,
    and it will devour their fortified citadels
        with an alarm sounding in the time of battle,
    and with a whirlwind in the time of storm.
15 Their king will go into captivity—
    he and his princes together,”
        says the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 1:1 The Heb. name Amos means burden
  2. Amos 1:1 Lit. saw
  3. Amos 1:1 Or in the days of
  4. Amos 1:1 Or in the days of
  5. Amos 1:3 Or have threshed
  6. Amos 1:8 Lit. with the one who holds the scepter of Ashkelon
  7. Amos 1:8 Lit. turn my hand against
  8. Amos 1:9 Or brothers
  9. Amos 1:11 I.e. the nation personified as an individual
  10. Amos 1:11 Lit. sword, abandoning his compassion
  11. Amos 1:11 Lit. anger was tearing away
  12. Amos 1:13 Or their boundary