Judgment on Neighboring Nations
1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders ofTekoa, which he saw [in a divine revelation] concerningIsrael in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
2 And he said,
“The Lordthundersandroars from Zion [in judgment]
And utters His voice from Jerusalem;
Then the pastures of the shepherds mourn,
And the summit of [Mount] Carmel dries up [because of God’s judgment].”
3 Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Damascus and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I shall not reverse its punishmentorrevoke My word concerning it,
Because they have threshed Gilead [east of the Jordan River] with sharp iron sledges [having spikes that crushed and shredded].
4 “So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon the house ofHazael,
And it shall devour the palacesandstrongholds ofBen-hadad (Hazael’s son).
5 “I also will break the bar [of the gate] of Damascus,
And cut offanddestroy the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven (Wickedness),
And the ruler who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden (Damascus);
And the people of Aram [conquered by the Assyrians] will go into exile toKir,”
Says the Lord.
6 Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Gaza [in Philistia] and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishmentorrevoke My word concerning it,
Because [as slave traders] they took captive the entire [Jewish] population [of defenseless Judean border villages, of which none was spared]
And deported them to Edom [for the slave trade].
7 “So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Gaza
And it shall consume her citadels.
8 “And I will cut offanddestroy the inhabitants from Ashdod,
And the ruler who holds the scepter, from Ashkelon;
And I will unleash My powerandturn My hand [in judgment] against Ekron,
And the rest of the Philistines [in Gath and the towns dependent on these four Philistine cities] shall die,”
Says the Lord God.
9 Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Tyre and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishmentorrevoke My word concerning it,
Because they [as middlemen] deported an entire [Jewish] population to Edom
And did not [seriously] remember their covenant of brotherhood.
10 “So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Tyre,
And it shall consume her citadels.”
11 Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of Edom [the descendants of Esau] and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishmentorrevoke My word concerning it,
Because he pursued his brother Jacob (Israel) with the sword,
Corruptingandstifling his compassionsandcasting off all mercy;
His destructive anger raged continually,
And he maintained [and nurtured] his wrath forever.
12 “So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon Teman,
And it shall consume the citadels of Bozrah [in Edom].”
13 Thus says the Lord,
“For three transgressions of the children ofAmmon and for four (multiplied delinquencies)
I will not reverse its punishmentorrevoke My word concerning it,
Because the Ammonites have ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead,
That they might enlarge their border.
14 “So I will kindle a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Rabbah [in Ammon]
And it shall devour its strongholds
Amid war criesandshouts of alarm on the day of battle,
And a tempest on the day of the whirlwind [when the enemy captures the city].
15 “Their king shall go into exile,
He and his princes together,” says the Lord.