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The words of Amos, who was among the sheep breeders[a] from Tekoa. He saw a vision concerning Israel during the days of Uzziah king of Judah and during the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

He said:
    The Lord roars from Zion.
    From Jerusalem he sends out his voice.
    The pastures of the shepherds dry up,[b]
    and the top of Mount Carmel withers.

Judgment Against Aram

This is what the Lord says:
    Because of three sins[c] of Damascus,
    because of four, I will not hold back judgment,
    because they cut up Gilead with iron threshing boards.[d]
So I will send fire against the house of Hazael,
    and it will consume the fortresses of Ben Hadad.
I will break the bars of the gates of Damascus,
    and I will cut off the one seated in the Valley of Aven,
    and the one who holds a scepter in Beth Eden.[e]
    So the people of Aram will go into exile toward Kir.[f]
    The Lord has spoken.

Judgment Against Philistia

This is what the Lord says:
    Because of three sins of Gaza,
    because of four, I will not hold back judgment,
    because they sold an entire population into exile,
    handing them over to Edom.
So I will send fire against the city wall of Gaza,
    and it will consume her citadels.
I will cut off the one seated in Ashdod,
    and the one who holds a scepter in Ashkelon.
    I will also turn my hand against Ekron,
    and what is left of the Philistines will perish.
    The Lord God has spoken.

Judgment Against Canaan

This is what the Lord says:
    Because of three sins of Tyre,
    because of four, I will not hold back judgment,
    because they delivered over an entire population and exiled them to Edom,
    and they did not remember a treaty of brotherhood.
10 So I will send fire against the city wall of Tyre,
    and it will consume her citadels.

Judgment Against Edom

11 This is what the Lord says:
    Because of three sins of Edom,
    because of four, I will not hold back judgment,
    because he[g] pursued his brother with a sword,
    and he had no compassion.[h]
    His anger kept tearing Israel apart,
    and his fury raged without stopping.
12 So I will send fire against Teman,
    and it will consume the citadels of Bozrah.

Judgment Against Ammon

13 This is what the Lord says:
    Because of three sins of the Ammonites,
    because of four, I will not hold back judgment,
    because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their own territory.
14 So I will ignite a fire against the city wall of Rabbah,
    and it will consume her citadels
        with a battle cry on the day of war,
        with a strong wind on the day of the storm.
15 Then their king will go into exile,
    he and his officials together.
    The Lord has spoken.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 1:1 Or ranchers
  2. Amos 1:2 Or mourn
  3. Amos 1:3 Or crimes
  4. Amos 1:3 A threshing board or threshing sledge is similar to a toboggan, but it has iron teeth protruding from the bottom. It is dragged over piles of grain to cut up the straw and release the kernels of grain.
  5. Amos 1:5 Valley of Aven and Beth Eden mean Valley of Wickedness and House of Pleasure. They may be figurative names for the region around Damascus.
  6. Amos 1:5 The location of Kir is unknown. It probably lies far to the north or east.
  7. Amos 1:11 Edom is referred to by the singular he because it is also a name of Jacob’s brother Esau.
  8. Amos 1:11 Or he destroyed pregnant women