Amos 2

1Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:

2But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:

3And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD.

4Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

5But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

6Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;

7That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:footnote a

8And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.footnote b

9Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

10Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.

11And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.

12But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

13Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.footnote c

14Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:footnote d

15Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.

16And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.footnote e

Judgment on Moab, Judah, and Israel

1This is what the LORD says:“For three transgressions of Moab, even four,I will not revoke My judgment,footnote abecause he burned to limethe bones of Edom’s king. 2So I will send fire against Moabto consume the citadels of Kerioth.Moab will die in tumult,amid war cries and the sound of the ram’s horn. 3I will cut off the ruler of Moaband kill all the officials with him,”says the LORD.

4This is what the LORD says:“For three transgressions of Judah, even four,I will not revoke My judgment,because they reject the Law of the LORDand fail to keep His statutes;they are led astray by the liesin which their fathers walked. 5So I will send fire upon Judahto consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”

6This is what the LORD says:“For three transgressions of Israel, even four,I will not revoke My judgment,because they sell the righteous for silverand the needy for a pair of sandals. 7They trample on the heads of the pooras on the dust of the earth;they push the needy out of their way.A man and his fatherhave relations with the same girland so profane My holy name. 8They lie down beside every altaron garments taken in pledge.And in the house of their God,footnote bthey drink wine obtained through fines.footnote c

9Yet it was I who destroyedthe Amorite before them,though his height was like that of the cedars,and he was as strong as the oaks.Yet I destroyed his fruit aboveand his roots below. 10And I brought you up from the land of Egyptand led you forty years in the wilderness,that you might take possessionof the land of the Amorite. 11I raised up prophets from your sonsand Nazirites from your young men.Is this not true,O children of Israel?”declares the LORD. 12“But you made the Nazirites drink wineand commanded the prophets not to prophesy. 13Behold, I am about to crush you in your placeas with a cart full of grain. 14Escape will fail the swift,the strong will not prevail by his strength,and the mighty will not save his life. 15The archer will not stand his ground,the fleet of foot will not escape,and the horseman will not save his life. 16Even the bravest of mighty menwill flee naked on that day,”declares the LORD.