Amos 2

International Standard Version

“For three transgressions of Moab
because they^[a] cremated the bones of the king of Edom,
    burning them^[b] to lime.
² So I will send down fire upon Moab,
    and it will devour the fortified citadels of Kerioth.
Moab will die in the uproar of battle,^[c]
    with a war cry
        and with the trumpeting of the ram’s horn.
³ I will execute their rulers among them,
    killing all of their officials as well,”
        says the Lord.

“For three transgressions of Judah
    —and now for a fourth—
        I will not turn away;
because they^[d] rejected the Law of the Lord
    and did not keep his statutes.
Their own lies made them wander off,
    following along the same path their ancestors walked.
⁵ So I will send down fire upon Judah,
    and it will devour the fortified citadels of Jerusalem.”

“For three transgressions of Israel
    —and now for a fourth—
        I will not turn away;
because they sold the righteous for money,
    and the poor for sandals,
⁷ moving quickly^[e] to rub the face^[f] of the needy in the dirt.
Corrupting^[g] the ways of the humble,
    a man and his father go to the same woman,
        deliberately defiling my holy name.
⁸ They lay down beside every altar,
    on garments pledged as collateral,^[h]
drinking wine paid for through fines
    imposed by the temple of their gods.
⁹ Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorites in front of them,
    though their height seemed like a cedar,^[i]
    though their strength seemed like an oak,
but whose fruit I destroyed from above
    and the roots from beneath.
¹⁰ Furthermore, I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
    leading you in the wilderness for 40 years,
        to take possession of the land of the Amorites.
¹¹ I also raised up your sons to be prophets,
    and from your young men I raised up Nazirites.^[j]
Is this not true, people of Israel?”
    declares the Lord.
¹² “But you forced the Nazirites to drink wine,
    and commanded the prophets,
        ‘You are not to prophesy!’

¹³ “Oh, how I am burdened down with you,
    as a wagon is overloaded with harvested grain!
¹⁴ So the swift runner will not escape,^[k]
    the valiant will not fortify his strength,
        and the mighty warrior will not save his life.
¹⁵ The skilled archer will not be able to stand,
    the swift runner will not survive,
        and the mounted rider will not preserve his own life.
¹⁶ Even the bravest of elite troops will run away naked at that time,”
    declares the Lord.