Amos 1:1-15
These are the words of Amos. He was a shepherd from the town of Tekoa. Here is the vision he saw concerning Israel. It came to him two years before the earthquake. At that time Uzziah was king of Judah. Jeroboam, the son of Jehoash, was king of Israel. Here are the words of Amos.
He said,
“The Lord roars like a lion from Jerusalem.
His voice sounds like thunder from Zion.
The grasslands of the shepherds turn brown.
The top of Mount Carmel dries up.”
The Lord Judges Israel’s Neighbors
The Lord says,
“The people of Damascus have sinned again and again.
So I will judge them.
They used threshing sleds with iron teeth
to crush Gilead’s people.
So I will send fire to destroy the palace of King Hazael.
It will burn up the forts of his son Ben-Hadad.
I will break down the city gate of Damascus.
I will kill the king
who lives in the Valley of Aven, that evil place.
He holds the ruler’s scepter in Beth Eden.
The people of Aram will be taken away to Kir as prisoners,”
says the Lord.
The Lord says,
“The people of Gaza have sinned again and again.
So I will judge them.
They captured whole communities.
They sold them to Edom.
So I will send fire to destroy the walls of Gaza.
It will burn up its forts.
I will kill the king of Ashdod.
He holds the ruler’s scepter in Ashkelon.
I will use my power against Ekron.
Every single Philistine will die,”
says the Lord and King.
The Lord says,
“The people of Tyre have sinned again and again.
So I will judge them.
They captured whole communities.
They sold them to Edom.
They did not honor the treaty
of friendship they had made.
So I will send fire to destroy the walls of Tyre.
It will burn up its forts.”
The Lord says,
“The people of Edom have sinned again and again.
So I will judge them.
They chased Israel with swords
that were ready to strike them down.
They killed the women of the land.
They were angry all the time.
Their anger was like a fire that blazed out.
It could not be stopped.
So I will send fire to destroy the city of Teman.
It will burn up Bozrah’s forts.”
The Lord says,
“The people of Ammon have sinned again and again.
So I will judge them.
They ripped open the pregnant women in Gilead.
They wanted to add land to their territory.
So I will set fire to destroy the walls of Rabbah.
It will burn up its forts.
War cries will be heard on that day of battle.
Strong winds will blow on that stormy day.
Ammon’s king will be carried away.
So will his officials,”
says the Lord.
Amos 2:1-16
The Lord says,
“The people of Moab have sinned again and again.
So I will judge them.
They burned the bones
of Edom’s king to ashes.
So I will send fire to destroy Moab.
It will burn up Kerioth’s forts.
Moab will come crashing down with a loud noise.
War cries will be heard.
So will the blast of trumpets.
I will kill Moab’s ruler.
I will also kill all its officials,”
says the Lord.
The Lord says,
“The people of Judah have sinned again and again.
So I will judge them.
They have refused to obey my law.
They have not kept my rules.
Other gods have led them astray.
Their people of long ago
worshiped those gods.
So I will send fire to destroy Judah.
It will burn up Jerusalem’s forts.”
The Lord Judges Israel
The Lord says,
“The people of Israel have sinned again and again.
So I will judge them.
They sell into slavery those who have done no wrong.
They trade needy people
for a mere pair of sandals.
They grind the heads of the poor
into the dust of the ground.
They refuse to be fair to those who are crushed.
A father and his son have sex with the same girl.
They treat my name as if it were not holy.
They lie down beside every altar on clothes they have taken.
They lie on those clothes
until the owner pays back what is owed.
In the house of their God
they drink wine that was paid as fines.
“Yet I destroyed the Amorites
to make room in the land for my people.
The Amorites were as tall as cedar trees.
They were as strong as oak trees.
But I cut off their fruit above the ground
and their roots below it.
“People of Israel, I brought you up out of Egypt.
I led you in the desert for 40 years.
I gave you the land of the Amorites.
I raised up prophets from among your children.
I also set apart for myself some of your young people to be Nazirites.
Isn’t that true, people of Israel?”
announces the Lord.
“But you made the Nazirites drink wine.
You commanded the prophets not to prophesy.
“A cart that is loaded with grain
crushes anything it runs over.
In the same way, I will crush you.
Your fastest runners will not escape.
The strongest people will not get away.
Even soldiers will not be able
to save their own lives.
Men who are armed with bows will lose the battle.
Soldiers who are quick on their feet will not escape.
Horsemen will not be able
to save their own lives.
Even your bravest soldiers
will run away naked on that day,”
announces the Lord.
