Amos 1
1 The words of Amos, who was among the shepherds of Tekoa, which he saw about Israel 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.
This is the message that [Yahweh] gave to [me], Amos. I am a (shepherd/man who takes care of sheep). I am from [near] Tekoa [town south of Jerusalem]. I received this message about Israel in a vision two years before the [big] earthquake. It was when Uzziah was the king of Judah, and Jeroboam, the son of [King] Jehoash, was the king of Israel.
2 And he said: The Lord will roar from Zion, and from Jerusalem he will utter his voice. And the beautiful pastures have mourned, and the top of Carmel has become dry.
This is what Yahweh said: “I will roar [like a lion] [MET]; when I speak from Zion [Hill in] Jerusalem [DOU], my voice will [resemble the sound of] thunder. [When that happens], the pastures where you shepherds [take care of] your sheep will dry up, and [the grass] on top of Carmel [Mountain] will (wither/become brown) [because I will cause that no rain will fall].”
3 Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of Damascus, and for four, I will not convert it, in so far as they have threshed Gilead into iron wagons.
This is [also] what Yahweh said [to me]: “[I will punish the people of] Damascus, [the capital of Syria, ] because of the many sins that they have committed; I will not [change my mind about punishing them] [MTY], because [the cruel things that they did to the people of the] Gilead [region] [were like] [MET] people threshing grain using sledges [that have (iron teeth/sharp iron nails) in them].
4 And I will send fire onto the house of Hazael, and it will devour the houses of Ben-hadad.
I will cause a fire to burn the palace [that King] Hazael [built and lived in], the fortress where [his son King] Ben-Hadad [also] lived.
5 And I will shatter the crowbar of Damascus, and I will destroy the inhabitants of the camp of the idol and the holder of the scepter of the house of pleasure; and the people of Syria will be transferred to Cyrene, says the Lord.
I will cause the gates of Damascus to be broken [down]; I will get rid of the king who rules in Aven Valley and the one who rules in Beth Eden. And the people of Syria will be captured and taken to the Kir [region where they originally lived].”
6 Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of Gaza, and for four, I will not convert it, in so far as they have carried out an excellent captivity, so as to enclose them in Idumea.
Yahweh [also] said this [to me]: “[I will punish the people of the cities in Philistia]: [I will punish the people of] Gaza [city] because of the many sins that they have committed; I will not change my mind about punishing them, because they captured large groups of people and took them to Edom and sold them to become the slaves of [the people of] Edom.
7 And I will send a fire onto the wall of Gaza, and it will devour its buildings.
I will cause a fire to completely burn the walls of Gaza and [also] destroy its fortresses.
8 And I will destroy the inhabitant from Ashdod, and the holder of the scepter of Ashkelon. And I will turn my hand against Ekron, and the remainder of the Philistines will perish, says the Lord God.
I will get rid of the king of Ashdod [city] and the king who rules [MTY] in Ashkelon [city]. I will [also] strike/punish [the people of] Ekron [city], and [all] the people of Philistia who are still alive will be killed.”
9 Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of Tyre, and for four, I will not convert it, in so far as they have completed an excellent captivity in Idumea and have not considered the bond among brothers.
Yahweh [also] said this [to me]: “[I will punish the people of] Tyre [city] because of the many sins that they have committed; I will not change my mind about punishing them, because they [also] captured large groups of our people and took them to Edom, disregarding the treaty of friendship that they had made [with your rulers].
10 And I will send a fire onto the wall of Tyre, and it will devour its buildings.
So I will cause a fire to completely burn the walls of Tyre and [also] destroy its fortresses.”
11 Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of Edom, and for four, I will not convert him, in so far as he has been pursuing his brother with the sword and has outraged his brother’s compassion, and he has gone beyond his anger and has held onto his indignation until the end.
Yahweh [also] said this [to me]: “I will punish [the people of] Edom because of the many sins that they have committed; I will not change my mind about punishing them, because they pursued the people [of Israel], who descended from Esau’s [brother Jacob, and killed them] with swords; they did not act mercifully toward them at all. They were extremely angry [with the people of Israel], and they continued to be angry [with them].
12 I will send a fire onto Teman, and it will devour the buildings of Bozrah.
I will cause a fire to burn Teman [district in Edom] and completely burn the fortresses of Bozrah, [the biggest city in Edom].”
13 Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of the sons of Ammon, and for four, I will not convert him, in so far as he has cut up the pregnant women of Gilead, so as to expand his limits.
Yahweh [also] said this [to me]: “I will punish [the people of] Ammon because of the many sins that [they] have committed; I will not change my mind about punishing them, because [their soldiers even] ripped open [the bellies of] pregnant women [when their army attacked] the Gilead [region] to gain more territory.
14 And I will ignite a fire on the wall of Rabbah. And it will devour its buildings, with wailing on the day of war, and with a whirlwind on the day of commotion.
I will cause a fire to [completely] burn the walls around Rabbah [city] and completely burn its fortresses. During that battle, [their enemies] will shout loudly and the fighting will be [like] [MET] a fierce/raging wind/storm.
15 And Melchom will go into captivity, he and his leaders together, says the Lord.
[After the battle], the king [of Ammon] and his officials will be (exiled/forced to go to another country).”
