Judgment on Israel’s Neighbors 1These are the words of Amos, who was among the sheepherdersa of Tekoa—what he saw concerning Israel two yearsb before the earthquake, in the days when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoashc was king of Israel. 2He said: “The LORD roars from Zion and raises His voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the summit of Carmel withers.” 3This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Damascus, even four, I will not revoke My judgment,d because they threshed Gilead 4So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael to consume the citadels of Ben-hadad. 5I will break down the gates of Damascus; I will cut off the rulere of the Valley of Avenf and the one who wields the scepter in Beth-eden. The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir,” 6This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Gaza, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they exiled a whole population, 7So I will send fire upon the walls of Gaza, 8I will cut off the ruler of Ashdod and the one who wields the scepter in Ashkelon. I will turn My hand against Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,” 9This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Tyre, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they delivered up a whole congregation of exiles to Edom and broke a covenant of brotherhood. 10So I will send fire upon the walls of Tyre 11This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Edom, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and stifled all compassion; his anger raged continually, and his fury flamed incessantly. 12So I will send fire upon Teman to consume the citadels of Bozrah.” 13This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of the Ammonites, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory. 14So I will kindle a fire in the walls of Rabbah to consume its citadels amid war cries on the day of battle and a violent wind on the day of tempest. 15Their king will go into exileg — he and his princes together,” says the LORD. Footnotes: 1 a Or sheep breeders 1 b Or during the two years 1 c Hebrew Joash , a variant of Jehoash 3 d Or I will not revoke the punishment ; Hebrew I will not revoke it ; also in verses 6, 9, 11, and 13 5 e Or the inhabitants 5 f Aven means wickedness . 15 g Possibly Milcom will go into exile ; Milcom, also called Molech, was god of the Ammonites; see Leviticus 18:21 and 1 Kings 11:7. |