Amos 1:1-3

Contemporary English Version

1 ^(A) I am Amos. And I raised sheep near the town of Tekoa^[a] when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam^[b] son of Jehoash^[c] was king of Israel.

Two years before the earthquake,^[d] the Lord gave me several messages^[e] about Israel, ²^(B) and I said:

When the Lord roars
from Jerusalem,
pasturelands and Mount Carmel
dry up and turn brown.

³^(C) The Lord said:

I will punish Syria^[f]
for countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They dragged logs with spikes^[g]
over the people of Gilead.

1.1 Tekoa: In the hill country of Judah about eight kilometers south of Bethlehem.
1.1 Uzziah … Jeroboam: Uzziah was king of Judah 781–740 b.c., and Jeroboam II was king of Israel 783–743 b.c.
1.1 Jehoash: The Hebrew text has “Joash,” another spelling of the name.
1.1 Two years … earthquake: Possibly the earthquake of 760 b.c., which seems to have been especially violent.
1.1 messages: Or “visions.”
1.3 Syria: The Hebrew text has “Damascus,” the leading city of Syria.
1.3 logs with spikes: These were dragged over grain to thresh it.