Amos 2

1 Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Moab, And for four, will I not turn away his punishment; For he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime!

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 But I will send a fire on Moab, Which shall devour the palaces of Kirioth; And Moab shall die amid tumults, Amid the war-shout, and the sound of the 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 I will destroy the judge from the midst of him, And slay all the princes with him, saith Jehovah.

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

4 Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, And for four, will I not turn away their punishment; For they have despised the law of Jehovah, And have not kept his statutes, And their idols have caused them to err, After 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 But I will send a fire upon Judah, Which shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

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

6 Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, And for four, will I not turn away their punishment. For they sell the righteous for silver, And the needy for a pair of 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 pant for the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, And pervert the cause of the afflicted. The son and the father go in to the same damsel, To dishonor 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 lay themselves down upon pledged garments Near every altar; And drink wine, procured by fines, In the house of their gods.

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 destroyed the Amorites before them, Who were tall as the cedars, And strong as the oaks. I destroyed their fruit above, And their roots beneath.

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 I brought you up from the land of Egypt, And led you in the desert forty years, That ye 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 Of your sons also I raised up prophets, And of your young men Nazarites; Is it not even so, O ye sons of Israel? saith Jehovah.

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 ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink, And commanded the prophets, Saying, Prophesy not!

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 press you down, As a wagon presseth down that is full of sheaves.

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 shall fail the swift, And the strong shall not exert his strength, And the mighty shall 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 he that handleth the bow shall not stand, And the swift of foot shall not save himself, And the horseman shall not escape with 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 He that is strong in heart among the mighty Shall, in that day, flee away naked, saith Jehovah.

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