Amos 2

1 This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Moab, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he burned to lime the bones of Edom’s king.

This is what the Lord says: The people of Moab have repeatedly sinned and so I will not hesitate to punish them, because they desecrated the bones of the king of Edom by burning them, turning them into lime.

2 So I will send fire against Moab to consume the citadels of Kerioth. Moab will die in tumult, amid war cries and the sound of the ram’s horn.

So I will send down fire on Moab, and I will burn up the fortresses of Kerioth, and the people of Moab will die in the midst of uproar, battle cries, and the sound of the trumpet.

3 I will cut off the ruler of Moab and kill all the officials with him,”

I will cut down their king and all their princes with him, says the Lord.

4 This 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 LORD and fail to keep His statutes; they are led astray by the lies in which their fathers walked.

This is what the Lord says: The people of Judah have repeatedly sinned and so I will not hesitate to punish them, because they rejected the law of the Lord and have not kept his commands. Their lies have led them astray, the same lies that their forefathers followed.

5 So I will send fire upon Judah to consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”

So I will send down fire on Judah, and I will burn up the fortresses of Jerusalem.

6 This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.

This is what the Lord says: The people of Israel have repeatedly sinned and so I will not hesitate to punish them, because they sell good people for silver, and poor people for a pair of sandals.

7 They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the earth; they push the needy out of their way. A man and his father have relations with the same girl and so profane My holy name.

They trample the heads of the poor into the dust, and push the needy out of the way. A man and his father have sex with the same servant girl so that my holy name is profaned.

8 They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. And in the house of their God, they drink wine obtained through fines.

At every altar they stretch themselves out in clothes taken from debtors as collateral, in the temple of their god they drink wine taken from the people they fined.

9 Yet it was I who destroyed the 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 above and his roots below.

Yet it was I was the one who destroyed the Amorites before you, even though they were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks. I destroyed them root and branch.

10 And I brought you up from the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, that you might take possession of the land of the Amorite.

It was I who brought you out of the land of Egypt and led you through the desert for forty years so that you could take the Amorites' land.

11 I raised up prophets from your sons and Nazirites from your young men. Is this not true, O children of Israel?”

I appointed some of your sons to be prophets, and some of your young men to be Nazirites. Isn't this true, people of Israel?

12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.

But you made the Nazirites sin by drinking wine, and you told the prophets, “Don't tell us what God says.”

13 Behold, I am about to crush you in your place as with a cart full of grain.

Now see what I am going to do. I will crush you where you are, as if crushed by a heavy cart loaded down with sheaves of grain.

14 Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life.

Not even your fastest runners will escape; strong men will lose their strength. Even the greatest warrior will not be able to save his life.

15 The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet of foot will not escape, and the horseman will not save his life.

The archer will not stand his ground. The quickest on his feet will not be able to get away, and even those on horseback will not save themselves.

16 Even the bravest of mighty men will flee naked on that day,”

On that day even the bravest of the mighty warriors will run away naked, says the Lord.