Amos 1
1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the 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 And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall 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 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing 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 But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.
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 also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity to Kir, saith 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 saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them 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 But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour its palaces:
I will cause a fire to completely burn the walls of Gaza and [also] destroy its fortresses.
8 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn my hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD.
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 saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not 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 But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre, which shall devour its palaces.
So I will cause a fire to completely burn the walls of Tyre and [also] destroy its fortresses.”
11 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:
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 But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall 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 Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away their punishment; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might 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 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour its palaces, with shouting 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 And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the LORD.
[After the battle], the king [of Ammon] and his officials will be (exiled/forced to go to another country).”
