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The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa—the vision he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel.
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He said: “The class="small-caps" >Lord roars from Zion and thunders from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds dry up, and the top of Carmel withers.”
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Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors
This is what the class="small-caps" >Lord says: “For three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not relent. Because she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth,
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I will send fire on the house of Hazael that will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.
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I will break down the gate of Damascus; I will destroy the king who is in the Valley of Aven and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden. The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,” says the class="small-caps" >Lord.
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This is what the class="small-caps" >Lord says: “For three sins of Gaza, even for four, I will not relent. Because she took captive whole communities and sold them to Edom,
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I will send fire on the walls of Gaza that will consume her fortresses.
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I will destroy the king of Ashdod and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon. I will turn my hand against Ekron, till the last of the Philistines are dead,” says the Sovereign class="small-caps" >Lord.
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This is what the class="small-caps" >Lord says: “For three sins of Tyre, even for four, I will not relent. Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom, disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,
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I will send fire on the walls of Tyre that will consume her fortresses.”
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This is what the class="small-caps" >Lord says: “For three sins of Edom, even for four, I will not relent. Because he pursued his brother with a sword and slaughtered the women of the land, because his anger raged continually and his fury flamed unchecked,
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I will send fire on Teman that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah.”
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This is what the class="small-caps" >Lord says: “For three sins of Ammon, even for four, I will not relent. Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to extend his borders,
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I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah that will consume her fortresses amid war cries on the day of battle, amid violent winds on a stormy day.
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Her king will go into exile, he and his officials together,” says the class="small-caps" >Lord.
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This is what the class="small-caps" >Lord says: “For three sins of Moab, even for four, I will not relent. Because he burned to ashes the bones of Edom’s king,
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I will send fire on Moab that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth. Moab will go down in great tumult amid war cries and the blast of the trumpet.
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This is what the class="small-caps" >Lord says: “For three sins of Judah, even for four, I will not relent. Because they have rejected the law of the class="small-caps" >Lord and have not kept his decrees, because they have been led astray by false gods, the gods their ancestors followed,
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I will send fire on Judah that will consume the fortresses of Jerusalem.”
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Judgment on Israel
This is what the class="small-caps" >Lord says: “For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not relent. They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals.
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They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. In the house of their god they drink wine taken as fines.
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“Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them, though they were tall as the cedars and strong as the oaks. I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below.
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I brought you up out of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness to give you the land of the Amorites.
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“I also raised up prophets from among your children and Nazirites from among your youths. Is this not true, people of Israel?” declares the class="small-caps" >Lord.
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“But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.
