Amos 1
1 These are the things concerning Israel that Amos, one of the shepherds in Tekoa, received in revelation. He received these things in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and also in the days of Jeroboam 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 He said, “Yahweh will roar from Zion; he will raise his voice from Jerusalem. The pastures of the shepherds will dry up; the top of Carmel will wither.”
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 This is what Yahweh says: “For three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not turn away punishment, because they threshed Gilead with instruments of iron.
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 I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, and it will devour the fortresses 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 I will break the gate bars of Damascus and cut off the man who rules over the Valley of Aven, and also the man who holds the scepter in Beth Eden. The people of Aram will go in captivity to Kir,” says Yahweh.
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 This is what Yahweh says: “For three sins of Gaza, even for four, I will not turn away punishment, because they carried away captive a whole people, to hand them over 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 I will send fire on the walls of Gaza, and it will devour her fortresses.
I will cause a fire to completely burn the walls of Gaza and [also] destroy its fortresses.
8 I will cut off the man who lives in Ashdod and the man who holds the scepter from Ashkelon. I will turn my hand against Ekron, and the rest of the Philistines will perish,” says the Lord Yahweh.
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 This is what Yahweh says: “For three sins of Tyre, even for four, I will not turn away punishment, because they had delivered up a whole people to Edom, and they broke their covenant of brotherhood.
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 I will send fire on the walls of Tyre, and it will devour her fortresses.”
So I will cause a fire to completely burn the walls of Tyre and [also] destroy its fortresses.”
11 This is what Yahweh says, “For three sins of Edom, even for four, I will not turn away punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity. His anger raged continually, and his wrath lasted 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 I will send fire on Teman, and it will devour the 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 This is what Yahweh says, “For three sins of the people of Ammon, even for four, I will not turn away punishment, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead, that they may enlarge their borders.
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 I will light a fire in the walls of Rabbah, and it will devour the palaces, with a shout in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.
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 Their king will go into captivity, he and his officials together,” says Yahweh.
[After the battle], the king [of Ammon] and his officials will be (exiled/forced to go to another country).”
