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Punishment for Moab

This is what the Lord says: “I will definitely punish the people of Moab for the many crimes they did. Moab burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime. So I will start a fire in Moab that will destroy the high towers of Kerioth.[a] There will be terrible shouting and the sounds of a trumpet, and Moab will die. So I will bring an end to the kings[b] of Moab, and I will kill all the leaders of Moab.” This is what the Lord said.

Punishment for Judah

This is what the Lord says: “I will definitely punish Judah for the many crimes they did. They refused to obey the Lord’s teachings and they did not keep his commands. Their ancestors believed lies, and those same lies caused the people of Judah to stop following God. So I will start a fire in Judah that will destroy the high towers of Jerusalem.”

Punishment for Israel

This is what the Lord says: “I will definitely punish Israel for the many crimes they have done. They sold honest people for a little silver. They sold the poor for the price of a pair of sandals. They pushed their faces into the ground and walked on them. They stopped listening to suffering people. Fathers and sons had sexual relations with the same woman. They ruined my holy name. They took clothes from the poor, and then they sat on those clothes while worshiping at their altars. They loaned money to the poor, and then they took their clothes as a promise for payment.[c] They made people pay fines and used the money to buy wine for themselves to drink in the temple of their god.

“But it was I who destroyed the Amorites[d] before them. They were as tall as cedar trees and as strong as oaks, but I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below.[e]

10 “I was the one who brought you from the land of Egypt. For 40 years I led you through the desert. I helped you take the Amorites’ land. 11 I made some of your sons to be prophets and some of your young men to be Nazirites. People of Israel, it is true.” This is what the Lord said. 12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine. You told the prophets not to prophesy. 13 You have become more than I can bear. I am bent low like a wagon loaded with grain. 14 No one will escape, not even the fastest runner. Strong men will not be strong enough. Soldiers will not be able to save themselves. 15 People with bows and arrows will not survive. Fast runners will not escape. People on horses will not escape alive. 16 At that time even very brave soldiers will run away. They will not take the time to put their clothes on.” This is what the Lord said.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 2:2 Kerioth A city in Moab. This might be Ar, the capital city of Moab.
  2. Amos 2:3 kings Literally, “judges.”
  3. Amos 2:8 as a promise for payment. See Deut. 24:12-13 for the rules about making loans to the poor.
  4. Amos 2:9 Amorites One of the nations who lived in Canaan before the Israelites came. They were the people who scared the Israelites while Moses was leading them in the desert. See Num. 13:33.
  5. Amos 2:9 fruit above … below This means the parents and their children.

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Moab,(A)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because he burned to ashes(B)
    the bones of Edom’s king,
I will send fire on Moab
    that will consume the fortresses of Kerioth.[a](C)
Moab will go down in great tumult
    amid war cries(D) and the blast of the trumpet.(E)
I will destroy her ruler(F)
    and kill all her officials with him,”(G)
says the Lord.(H)

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Judah,(I)
    even for four, I will not relent.
Because they have rejected the law(J) of the Lord
    and have not kept his decrees,(K)
because they have been led astray(L) by false gods,[b](M)
    the gods[c] their ancestors followed,(N)
I will send fire(O) on Judah
    that will consume the fortresses(P) of Jerusalem.(Q)

Judgment on Israel

This is what the Lord says:

“For three sins of Israel,
    even for four, I will not relent.(R)
They sell the innocent for silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals.(S)
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.(T)
They lie down beside every altar
    on garments taken in pledge.(U)
In the house of their god
    they drink wine(V) taken as fines.(W)

“Yet I destroyed the Amorites(X) before them,
    though they were tall(Y) as the cedars
    and strong as the oaks.(Z)
I destroyed their fruit above
    and their roots(AA) below.
10 I brought you up out of Egypt(AB)
    and led(AC) you forty years in the wilderness(AD)
    to give you the land of the Amorites.(AE)

11 “I also raised up prophets(AF) from among your children
    and Nazirites(AG) 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.(AH)

13 “Now then, I will crush you
    as a cart crushes when loaded with grain.(AI)
14 The swift will not escape,(AJ)
    the strong(AK) will not muster their strength,
    and the warrior will not save his life.(AL)
15 The archer(AM) will not stand his ground,
    the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
    and the horseman(AN) will not save his life.(AO)
16 Even the bravest warriors(AP)
    will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 2:2 Or of her cities
  2. Amos 2:4 Or by lies
  3. Amos 2:4 Or lies