Syria

3 This is what Yahweh says:

“Even if Damascus was three or four sins below the threshold,

I wouldn’t turn away their punishment,

for the cruel things they did to the people of Gilead.[ref]

4 I’ll send a fire into King Hazael’s house,

≈and it will devour King Ben-Hadad’s fortresses.

5 I’ll smash the gate bars of Damascus

and eliminate the ruler of the Aven Valley,

and also the leader of Beth-Eden.

The people of Aram will go in captivity to Kir,”

says Yahweh.

Philistia

6 This is what Yahweh says:

“Even if Azzah (Gaza) was three or four sins below the threshold,

I wouldn’t turn away their punishment,

because they carried a whole people group away as captives,

to hand them over to Edom.[ref] 7 I’ll send fire onto Azzah’s walls,

and it’ll devour her fortresses. 8 I will cut off those from Ashdod

≈and the ruler of Ashkelon.

I’ll cause problems for Ekron,

and the rest of the Philistines will die,”

says Yahweh the master.

Tsor

9 This is what Yahweh says:

“Even if Tsor (Tyre) was three or four sins below the threshold,

I wouldn’t turn away their punishment,

because they handed a whole people group over to Edom,

and they didn’t take any notice of their brotherhood agreement.[ref]

10 I’ll send fire onto Tsor’s walls,

and it’ll devour her fortresses.”

Edom

11 This is what Yahweh says,

“Even if Edom was three or four sins below the threshold,

I wouldn’t turn away their punishment,

because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity.

His anger raged continually,

≈and his rage lasted forever.[ref]

12 I’ll send fire on Teyman,

and it’ll devour Botsrah’s fortresses.”

Ammon

13 This is what Yahweh says,

“Even if the Ammonites were three or four sins below the threshold,

I wouldn’t turn away their punishment,

because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead,

in order to grab territory.[ref]

14 I’ll light a fire in Rabah’s walls,

and it’ll devour its fortresses,

with a shout in the day of battle,

with a storm in the day of the whirlwind.

15 Their king will go into captivity along with his officials,”

says Yahweh.

Moab

2 This is what Yahweh says:

“Even if Moab was three or four sins below the threshold,

I wouldn’t turn away its punishment,

because he completely burnt up the bones of the Edom’s king.[ref]

2 I’ll send fire on Moab,

and it will devour Keriot’s fortresses.

Moab will die in an uproar—

with shouting and the sound of the horn. 3 I’ll wipe out her judge,

≈and I’ll kill all the leaders along with him,”

says Yahweh.

4 This is what Yahweh says:

“Even if Yehudah was three or four sins below the threshold,

I wouldn’t turn away its punishment,

because they rejected Yahweh’s instructions

≈and didn’t keep his regulations.

Their lies caused them to go astray,

just like their ancestors had done. 5 I’ll send fire on Yehudah,

and it’ll devour Yerushalem’s fortresses.”

6 This is what Yahweh says:

“Even if Yehudah was three or four sins below the threshold,

I wouldn’t turn away its punishment,

because they sold the innocent for silver

≈and the needy for a pair of sandals. 7 They trample the heads of the poor into the dust.

They just push the oppressed out of the way.

A man and his father go lie with the same girl

and so profane my sinless reputation. 8 They lie down beside every altar on clothes taken from the poor as pledges,

and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who were fined.

9 Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them.

They were as tall as of cedars

and as strong as oaks.

Yet I destroyed their fruit up high

and their roots down below.[ref] 10 Also, I brought you all out of Egypt (Heb. Mitsrayim)

and led you forty years in the wilderness

so you all could possess the land of the Amorites.

11 I raised prophets up from among your sons

≈and devoted Nazirites from your young men.

Isn’t that right, you Israelis?

This is Yahweh’s declaration.[ref]

12 But you all persuaded the Nazirites to drink wine[ref]

and ordered the prophets not to prophesy.

13 Listen, I’m going to make you lose your stability

just like a cart wobbles when it’s carrying a heavy load of grain.

14 Even fast people won’t be able to reach a safe place.

≈The strong won’t have enough strength of their own,

≈and the powerful won’t be able to save themselves.

15 The archer holding the bow will be forced to retreat.

Even the fast runner won’t be able to escape.

The horse-rider won’t escape with his life.

16 Even the bravest warriors will flee naked that day.

That is Yahweh’s declaration.

3 Hear this message that Yahweh has spoken against you, people of Israel, against Yakob’s descendants that I brought out of Egypt saying: 2 “I have chosen only you from all the families of the earth, therefore I’ll punish you all for all your sins.”

3 Do two people walk together, without first agreeing to meet.

4 Would a lion roar in the forest when he doesn’t have any prey?

≈Would a young lion growl from his den if he’s caught nothing?

5 Would a bird fall into a trap on the ground when no bait has been put in it?

≈Would a trap just spring up from the ground when it hasn’t caught anything?

6 If a warning trumpet sounds in a city, won’t the people start to worry?

≈If disaster comes to a city, wouldn’t it be Yahweh who sent it?

7 Surely the master Yahweh wouldn’t do anything unless he first reveals his plan to his servants the prophets.

8 The lion has roared—who won’t be afraid?

≈The master Yahweh has spoken—who won’t prophesy?

9 Proclaim this in the fortresses at Ashdod,

≈and in the strongholds in Egypt,

saying, “Assemble yourselves on Shomron’s mountains

and see what great confusion is in her,

≈and what oppression is in her.

10 Yahweh declares that they don’t know how to do right.

They store up violence and destruction in their fortresses.”

11 Therefore, this is what the master Yahweh says:

“An enemy will surround the land,

and pull down your strongholds

and plunder your fortresses.”

12 This is what Yahweh says:

“Just as the shepherd rescues out of the lion’s mouth two legs only, or a piece of an ear,

≈so will the Israelis who live in Shomron be rescued with only the corner of a couch or a piece of a bed.” 13 Take notice of this and testify against Yakob’s descendants.

That is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh, army commander God.

14 “On the day that I bring punishment for Israel’s sins to her, I’ll also bring punishment on the altars of Beyt-El. The altar’s horns will be cut off and fall to the ground.[ref] 15 I’ll destroy the winter house along with the summer house. The houses of ivory will perish, and the large houses will vanish.

That is Yahweh’s declaration.”

4 Listen to this message, you women like the cows of Bashan on Shomron’s mountain—

you who oppress the poor,

≈you who crush the needy,

you who say to your husbands,

“Bring us drinks.”

2 My master Yahweh has sworn by his own sinlessness saying,

“Listen, the time will come

when they’ll take you all away with hooks—

≈the last of you with fish-hooks.

3 You’ll all be taken straight out through breaks in the city wall,

and you’ll be thrown out toward Harmon.

That is Yahweh’s declaration.”

4 “Go to the worship centre at Beyt-El and sin,

≈to the one at Gilgal and multiply sin.

Bring your sacrifices every morning,

≈your tithes every three days.

5 Offer a thanksgiving sacrifice with bread.

≈Proclaim freewill offerings.

≈Announce them,

because that pleases you, you Israelis.

That’s my master Yahweh’s declaration.

6 I also gave you empty stomachs in all your cities

and lack of bread in all your places.

Yet you all haven’t returned to me.

That is Yahweh’s declaration.

7 I also withheld rain from you

when there were still three months to the harvest.

I made it rain on one city,

and didn’t send rain to some another city.

One piece of land was rained on,

but the piece of land where he didn’t send rain, dried up.

8 People from two or three cities staggered to another city to drink water,

but still weren’t able to get enough.

Yet you all haven’t returned to me.

That is Yahweh’s declaration.

9 I ruined your crops with blight and mildew.

The multitude of your gardens and your vineyards,

your fig trees and your olive trees,

were all devastated by the locusts.

Yet you all haven’t returned to me.

That is Yahweh’s declaration.

10 I sent a plague on you similar to what I did in Egypt (Heb. Mitsrayim).

I killed your young men with the sword, carried away your horses,

and made the stench of your camp reach your noses.

Yet you all haven’t returned to me.

That is Yahweh’s declaration.

11 I overthrew cities among you, just like when God overthrew Sodom and Amorah (Gomorrah).[ref]

You were like a burning stick snatched out of the fire.

Yet you all haven’t returned to me.

That is Yahweh’s declaration.

12 Therefore I’ll do something terrible to you, Yisrael,

and because I’ll do something terrible to you,

prepare to meet your God, Yisrael.

13 Now listen. He who formed the mountains and created the wind

reveals his thoughts to humanity,

makes the morning darkness,

and walks around the highest places in this world.

Army commander God, Yahweh, is his name.”

5 Hear this message of mourning over you that I take up, people of Israel:

2 The virgin Israel has fallen—she won’t rise again.

She’s abandoned on her land—there’s no one to help her up,

3 because this is what the Lord Yahweh says:

“The city that went out with a thousand warriors will have a hundred left,

≈and the one that went out with a hundred will have ten left belonging to the nation of Israel.”

4 This is what Yahweh says to the people of Israel:

“Seek me and live!

5 Don’t seek Beyt-El (which means ‘God’s house’)

≈or enter Gilgal;

Don’t journey down to Beer-Sheva.

Because Gilgal will surely go into captivity,

≈and Beyt-El will become nothing.

6 Seek Yahweh and live,

or he will break out like fire among Yosef’s descendants.

It will devour, and there’ll be no one to quench it in Beyt-El.

7 Those people turn justice into a bitter thing

and throw righteousness down to the ground.”

8 God made the Pleiades and Orion constellations.

He turns darkness into the morning

and he makes the day dark with night

He calls for the waters of the sea

and pours them out on the surface of the earth.

Yahweh is his name.

9 He causes devastation to land on the strong,

≈and destruction comes down on the fortresses.

10 They hate anyone who corrects them at the community centre,

≈and they despise anyone who speaks the truth.

11 Therefore, because you trample down the poor

≈and take a percentage of all their grain—

although you have built houses from nice stone blocks, you won’t get to live in them.

≈You have delightful vineyards, but you won’t drink their wine.

12 For I know how many your offenses are

and how great your sins are—

you who make honest people suffer, take bribes,

and turn aside the needy at the community centre.

13 Therefore any sensible person should be silent at such a time,

because it’s an evil time.

14 Strive to do good and not evil, so that you may live.

So Yahweh, the God with armies, will really be with you,

just like you’ve all been saying.

15 Hate evil, love good, and establish justice at the community centre.

Perhaps Yahweh, the God with armies, will be gracious to the remnant of Yosef’s descendants.

16 Therefore, this is what Yahweh says, the God with armies, my master,

“Wailing will be in all the squares,

≈and in all the streets they’ll complain, ‘Oh no. Oh no.’

They’ll call the farmers to mourning

≈and the mourners to wail. 17 There’ll be wailing in all the vineyards because I’ll pass through among you,”

Yahweh says.

18 You who desire the day of Yahweh won’t end well.

Why do you long for the day of Yahweh?

It’ll be darkness and not light,

19 like when a person flees from a lion and then they run into a bear,

≈or when a person goes in a house and puts a hand on the wall and gets bitten by a snake.

20 Won’t Yahweh’s day consist of darkness and not light?

≈Gloom and no brightness?

21 “I hate, I despise your festivals,

≈I take no delight in your formal gatherings.[ref]

22 Even though you all offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings, I won’t accept them,

≈nor will I take any notice of your fellowship offerings of fattened animals.

23 Take the noise of your songs away from me.

≈I won’t listen to the sound of your harps.

24 Instead, let justice flow like water,

≈and righteousness like a constantly flowing stream.

25 You descendants of Israel,

did you bring me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness for forty years?[ref]

26 You’ve all lifted up the images of Sikkut, your king,

and Kiyyun, your star god that you made for yourselves. 27 Therefore I will exile you far beyond Damascus,”

says Yahweh, whose name is the God with armies.

6 Those who’re at ease in Tsiyyon (Zion) won’t end well,

nor will those who feel secure in the hill country of Shomron (Samaria)—

the notable men of the best of the nations—

the ones who Israel’s descendants come to for help!

2 “Go to Kalneh and look.

From there go to Hamat-Rabah.

Then go down to the Philistine city of Gat.

Are they better than your two kingdoms?

Is their territory larger than yours?”

3 Those who refuse to consider the day of disaster won’t end well

and make the seat of violence come closer.

4 They lie on ivory beds

≈and lounge on their couches.

They eat lambs from the flock

≈and calves from the stall.

5 They sing fun songs with the harp as accompaniment.

They improvise on musical instruments like David did.

6 They drink bowls of wine

and anoint themselves with the finest oils,

but they don’t grieve over Israel’s ruin.

7 Therefore, they’ll go into exile now with the first exiles,

and the feasts of those who lounged about will come to an end.

8 This is the declaration of Yahweh, the God with armies:

“I, the master Yahweh, have sworn by myself

that I detest Israel’s pride.

I hate their fortresses,

therefore I’ll hand the city[fn] over with everything that’s in it.”

9 When that happens, if there’s ten people left in a house, they’ll all die. 10 When a person’s relative comes to take their bodies out of the house to be burnt outside, if he asks the person in the house if there’s anyone with them and if that person says there’s not, then he’ll say, “Don’t say anything else because we mustn’t mention Yahweh’s name.”

11 Yes, because, listen, Yahweh will give a command,

and the big house will be smashed to pieces,

≈and the little house turned into rubble.

12 Do horses run on the rocky cliffs?

≈Would someone plough there with oxen?

Yet you’ve all turned justice into poison

and the results of doing what’s right, into bitterness,

13 you who celebrate about capturing Lo-Debar—

who say, “Didn’t we take Karnaim by our own strength?”

14 Therefore, listen, I’ll raise up a nation against you people of Israel.

That’s the declaration of Yahweh, the God with armies.

They’ll afflict you

from Lebo-Hamat to the brook in the Arabah.”

7 This is what my master Yahweh showed me:

Listen, he formed a locust swarm when the spring crop began to come up, and oh no, it was the late crop after the king’s initial harvest. 2 When they’d finished eating everything green across the land, then I asked, “My master Yahweh, please forgive me. How will Israel survive because it’s only a small country?.”

3 So Yahweh backed off from that and said that he wouldn’t do it.

4 This is what my master Yahweh showed me:

Listen, my master Yahweh called on fire to judge the country. It dried up the vast, deep water under the earth and also would have devoured the land 5 except I said, “My master Yahweh, please stop. How will Israel survive because it’s so small?”

6 So Yahweh also backed off from that and said that he wouldn’t do it.

7 This is what he showed me:

Listen, my master stood on a wall holding a plumb-line 8 and he asked me, “Amos, what do you see?”

“A plumb line,” I answered.

“Listen, I’ll drop a plumb-line down to check out my people Israel,” my master said. “Never again will I spare them. 9 The hilltop shrines of Yitsak (Isaac) will be destroyed.

≈Yisrael’s sanctuaries will be ruined,

and I’ll take action against the house of Yaraveam (Jeroboam) with the sword.”

10 Then Amatsyah, the priest at Beyt-El (Bethel), sent a message to Yisrael’s King Yaraveam, saying: “Amos has conspired against you right among the Israeli people. The country can’t handle all his messages. 11 Amos is saying that you, Yaraveam will die by the sword and and that Israel will definitely get taken into exile away from this land.”

12 Amatsyah ordered Amos, “Hey prophet! Go and run yourself back to the Yehudah region, and earn your living and prophesy there. 13 But you must never again prophesy here at Beyt-El because it’s the king’s sanctuary, and it’s the royal residence.”

14 “I am not a prophet,” Amos answered the priest. “Nor am I a prophet’s son, because I’m a herdsman, plus I take care of an orchard. 15 But Yahweh took me from looking after the flock and told me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 So now listen to Yahweh’s message: You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel, and don’t speak out against Yitsak’s descendants.’ 17 Therefore this is what Yahweh says:

Your wife will become a prostitute in the city.

Your sons and daughters will die by the sword.

Your property will be measured and divided up.

You’ll die in a foreign, heathen country,

and Israel will certainly be taken into exile from its land.”

8 This is what my master Yahweh showed me: See this basketful of summer fruit. 2 Then he asked, “What do you see, Amos?”

“A basket of summer fruit,” I said.

Then Yahweh told me, “The end has come for my people Israel. I won’t spare them any longer. 3 The songs of the temple will become wailings on that day.

That’s the declaration of my master Yahweh.

Many dead bodies—they’re thrown everywhere.

Then silence.”