Judgment on Judah and Israel
1Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Moab and for four
I will not [a]revoke its punishment,
Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
2 “So I will send fire upon Moab
And it will consume the citadels of Kerioth;
And Moab will die amid tumult,
With [b]war cries and the sound of a trumpet.
3 “I will also cut off the [c]judge from her midst
And slay all her princes with him,” says the Lord.
4 Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Judah and for four
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they rejected the law of the Lord
And have not kept His statutes;
Their [d]lies also have led them astray,
Those after which their fathers walked.
5 “So I will send fire upon Judah
And it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”
6 Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Israel and for four
I will not revoke its punishment,
Because they sell the righteous for money
And the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 “These who [e]pant after the very dust of the earth on the head of the helpless
Also turn aside the way of the humble;
And a man and his father [f]resort to the same [g]girl
In order to profane My holy name.
8 “On garments taken as pledges they stretch out beside every altar,
And in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.
9 “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
[h]Though his height was like the height of cedars
And he was strong as the oaks;
I even destroyed his fruit above and his root below.
10 “It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,
And I led you in the wilderness forty years
[i]That you might take possession of the land of the Amorite.
11 “Then I raised up some of your sons to be prophets
And some of your young men to be Nazirites.
Is this not so, O sons of Israel?” declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine,
And you commanded the prophets saying, ‘You shall not prophesy!’
13 “Behold, I am [j]weighted down beneath you
As a wagon [k]is weighted down when filled with sheaves.
14 “[l]Flight will perish from the swift,
And the stalwart will not strengthen his power,
Nor the mighty man save his [m]life.
15 “He who grasps the bow will not stand his ground,
The swift of foot will not escape,
Nor will he who rides the horse save his [n]life.
16 “Even the [o]bravest among the warriors will flee naked in that day,” declares the Lord.
Footnotes
- Amos 2:1 Lit cause it to turn back, and so throughout the ch
- Amos 2:2 Or shouts
- Amos 2:3 Or executive officer
- Amos 2:4 Or false gods
- Amos 2:7 Or trample or, snap at the head of the helpless on the dust
- Amos 2:7 Lit go
- Amos 2:7 Possibly a harlot, or a temple prostitute
- Amos 2:9 Lit Whose height
- Amos 2:10 Lit To possess
- Amos 2:13 Or tottering
- Amos 2:13 Or totters
- Amos 2:14 Or A place of refuge
- Amos 2:14 Lit soul
- Amos 2:15 Lit soul
- Amos 2:16 Lit stout of heart