Amos 1
1 Words of Amos—who has been among herdsmen of Tekoa—that he has seen concerning Israel, in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the shaking;
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 says, “YHWH roars from Zion, And gives forth His voice from Jerusalem, And pastures of the shepherds have mourned, And the top of Carmel has withered!”
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 thus said YHWH: “For three transgressions of Damascus, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of their threshing Gilead with sharp-pointed irons,
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 have sent a fire against the house of Hazael, And it has consumed the palaces 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 have broken the bar of Damascus, And cut off the inhabitant from Bikat-Aven, And a holder of a scepter from Beth-Eden, And the people of Aram have been removed to Kir,” said YHWH.
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 said YHWH: “For three transgressions of Gaza, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of their removing a complete captivity, To deliver up to Edom,
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 have sent a fire against the wall of Gaza, And it has consumed her palaces;
I will cause a fire to completely burn the walls of Gaza and [also] destroy its fortresses.
8 And I have cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, And a holder of a scepter from Ashkelon, And have turned back My hand against Ekron, And the remnant of the Philistines have perished,” said Lord YHWH.
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 said YHWH: “For three transgressions of Tyre, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of their delivering up a complete captivity to Edom, And they did not remember the brotherly covenant,
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 have sent a fire against the wall of Tyre, And it has consumed her palaces.”
So I will cause a fire to completely burn the walls of Tyre and [also] destroy its fortresses.”
11 Thus said YHWH: “For three transgressions of Edom, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of his pursuing his brother with a sword, And he has destroyed his mercies, And his anger tears continuously, And his wrath—he has kept it forever,
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 have sent a fire against Teman, And it has consumed palaces 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 said YHWH: “For three transgressions of the sons of Ammon, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of their ripping up the pregnant ones of Gilead, To enlarge their border,
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 have kindled a fire against the wall of Rabbah, And it has consumed her palaces, With a shout in a day of battle, With a whirlwind in a day of windstorm,
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 their king has gone in a removal, He and his heads together,” said YHWH!
[After the battle], the king [of Ammon] and his officials will be (exiled/forced to go to another country).”
