< Amos 1 >
1 Words of Amos — who hath been among herdsmen of Tekoa — that he hath 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;
Here is the message that was given to Amos, a shepherd from Tekoa in Judah. This is what he saw concerning Israel when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam, son of Jehoash, was king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
2 and he saith: Jehovah from Zion doth roar, And from Jerusalem giveth forth His voice, And mourned have pastures of the shepherds, And withered hath the top of Carmel!
And he said, The Lord roars from Zion, he shouts from Jerusalem. The shepherds' pastures wither, the top of Mount Carmel dries up.
3 And thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Damascus, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of their threshing Gilead with sharp-pointed irons,
This is what the Lord says: The people of Damascus have repeatedly sinned and so I will not hesitate to punish them, for they beat the people of Gilead with sharp iron threshing tools.
4 And I have sent a fire against the house of Hazael, And it hath consumed the palaces of Ben-Hadad.
So I will send fire down on the house of Hazael and burn up Ben-Hadad's fortresses.
5 And I have broken the bar of Damascus, And cut off the inhabitant from Bikat-Aven, And a holder of a sceptre from Beth-Eden, And removed have been the people of Aram to Kir, said Jehovah.
I will smash the gates of Damascus, I will cut down those who live in the Valley of Aven, and the ruler from Beth Eden. The people of Aram will be deported as prisoners to the land of Kir, says the Lord.
6 Thus said Jehovah: 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,
This is what the Lord says: The people of Gaza have repeatedly sinned and so I will not hesitate to punish them, for they sent into exile whole communities, handing them over to Edom.
7 And I have sent a fire against the wall of Gaza, And it hath consumed her palaces;
So I will send down fire on the walls of Gaza and burn up its fortresses.
8 And I have cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, And a holder of a sceptre from Ashkelon, And have turned back My hand against Ekron, And perished have the remnant of the Philistines, Said the Lord Jehovah.
I will cut down those who live in Ashdod and the ruler of Ashkelon. I will turn to punish Ekron and the Philistines who remain will die, says the Lord God.
9 Thus said Jehovah: 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 remembered not the brotherly covenant,
This is what the Lord says: The people of Tyre have repeatedly sinned and so I will not hesitate to punish them, for they exiled whole communities, handing them over to Edom, and did not keep their agreement to help each other as members of the same family.
10 And I have sent a fire against the wall of Tyre, And it hath consumed her palaces.
So I will send down fire on the walls of Tyre and burn up its fortresses.
11 Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Edom, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of his pursuing with a sword his brother, And he hath destroyed his mercies, And tear perpetually doth his anger, And his wrath — he hath kept it for ever,
This is what the Lord says: The people of Edom have repeatedly sinned and so I will not hesitate to punish them, for they hunted down the Israelites to whom they were related, killing them with swords. They attacked without mercy, tearing the Israelites to pieces in an angry rage that never stopped.
12 And I have sent a fire against Teman, And it hath consumed palaces of Bozrah.
So I will send down fire on Teman, and I will burn up the fortresses of Bozrah.
13 Thus said Jehovah: 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,
This is what the Lord says: The people of Ammon have repeatedly sinned and so I will not hesitate to punish them, because they ripped open pregnant women in Gilead as part of their war to enlarge their territory.
14 And I have kindled a fire against the wall of Rabbah, And it hath consumed her palaces, With a shout in a day of battle, With a whirlwind in a day of hurricane,
I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah and burn up its fortresses. There will be shouts on the day of battle which will whirl with rage like a windstorm.
15 And gone hath their king in a removal, He and his heads together, said Jehovah!
Their king will be sent into exile together with his princes, says the Lord.