Amos 1
1 The words of Amos which came [to him] in Accarim out of Thecue, which he saw concerning Jerusalem, in the days of Ozias king of Juda, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joas 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 has spoken out of Sion, and has uttered his voice out of Jerusalem; and the pastures of the shepherds have mourned, and the top of Carmel is dried up.
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 And the Lord said, For three sins of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away from it; because they sawed with iron saws the women with child of the Galaadites.
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 a fire on the house of Azael, and it shall devour the foundations of the son of Ader.
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 break to pieces the bars of Damascus, and will destroy the inhabitants out of the plain of On, and will cut in pieces a tribe out of the men of Charrhan: and the famous people of Syria shall be led captive, 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 sins of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away from them; because they took prisoners the captivity of Solomon, to shut [them] up into 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 forth a fire on the walls of Gaza, and it shall devour its foundations.
I will cause a fire to completely burn the walls of Gaza and [also] destroy its fortresses.
8 And I will destroy the inhabitants out of Azotus, and a tribe shall be cut off from Ascalon, and I will stretch out my hand upon Accaron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, says the Lord.
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 transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away from it; because they shut up the prisoners of Solomon into Idumea, and remembered not the covenant of brethren.
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 forth a fire on the walls of Tyre, and it shall devour the foundations of it.
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 sins of Idumea, and for four, I will not turn away from them; because they pursued their brother with the sword, and destroyed the mother upon the earth, and summoned up his anger for a testimony, and kept up his fury to 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 And I will send forth a fire upon Thaman, and it shall devour the foundations of her walls.
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 sins of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away from him; because they ripped up the women with child of the Galaadites, that they might widen their coasts.
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 kindle a fire on the walls of Rabbath, and it shall devour her foundations with shouting in the day of war, and she shall be shaken in the days of her destruction:
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 her kings shall go into captivity, their priests and their rulers together, says the Lord.
[After the battle], the king [of Ammon] and his officials will be (exiled/forced to go to another country).”
