Amos 2

1 Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of Moab, and for four, I will not convert him, in so far as he has burned the bones of the king of Idumea, all the way to ashes.

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 And I will send a fire onto Moab, and it will devour the buildings of Kerioth. And Moab will die with a noise, with the blare of a trumpet.

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 And I will destroy the judge in their midst, and I will execute all his leaders with him, says the Lord.

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

4 Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of Judah, and for four, I will not convert him, in so far as he has rejected the law of the Lord and has not kept his commandments. For their idols, which their fathers followed, have deceived them.

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 And I will send a fire onto Judah, and it will devour the buildings of Jerusalem.

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

6 Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of Israel, and for four, I will not convert him, in so far as he has sold the just for silver and the poor for shoes.

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 grind the heads of the poor into the dust of the earth, and they divert the way of the humble. And the son, as well as his father, have gone to the same girl, so that they outrage 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 And they have lain on garments taken in pledge next to every altar. And they drank the wine of the damned in the house of their God.

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 I exterminated the Amorites before their face, whose height was like the height of cedars, and whose strength was like the oak. And I crushed his fruit from 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 It is I who caused you to ascend from the land of Egypt, and I led you in the wilderness for forty years, so that you might possess 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 And I stirred up prophets from your sons, and Nazirites from your young men. Is it not so, sons of Israel, says the Lord?

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 Yet you would offer wine to the Nazirites, and you would command the prophets, saying: “Do not 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 will creak under you, just as a wagon creaks that is laden with hay.

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 And flight will perish from the swift, and the strong will not maintain his strength, and the healthy 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 And one holding the bow will not stand firm, and the swift of foot will not be saved, and the rider on the horse 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 And the stout of heart among the strong will flee away naked in that day, says the Lord.

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