Amos 1-5

Holman Christian Standard Bible

The Lord roars^(F) from Zion
and raises His voice from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds mourn,^[b](G)
and the summit of Carmel^(H) withers.

I will not relent from punishing Damascus^(I)
for three crimes, even four,^(J)
because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges.
⁴ Therefore, I will send fire against Hazael’s palace,
and it will consume Ben-hadad’s^(K) citadels.
⁵ I will break down the gates^[c](L) of Damascus.
I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven,
and the one who wields the scepter from Beth-eden.
The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir.^(M)
The Lord has spoken.

I will not relent from punishing Gaza^(N)
for three crimes, even four,
because they exiled a whole community,
handing them over to Edom.
⁷ Therefore, I will send fire against the walls of Gaza,
and it will consume its citadels.
⁸ I will cut off the ruler from Ashdod,^(O)
and the one who wields the scepter from Ashkelon.^(P)
I will also turn My hand against Ekron,
and the remainder of the Philistines^(Q) will perish.
The Lord God has spoken.

I will not relent from punishing Tyre^(R)
for three crimes, even four,
because they handed over
a whole community of exiles to Edom
and broke^[d] a treaty of brotherhood.^(S)
10 Therefore, I will send fire^(T) against the walls of Tyre,
and it will consume its citadels.

I will not relent from punishing Edom^(U)
for three crimes, even four,
because he pursued his brother with the sword.^(V)
He stifled his compassion,
his anger tore at them^(W) continually,
and he harbored his rage incessantly.
¹² Therefore, I will send fire against Teman,^(X)
and it will consume the citadels of Bozrah.

I will not relent from punishing the Ammonites^(Y)
for three crimes, even four,
because they ripped open
the pregnant women of Gilead^(Z)
in order to enlarge their territory.^(AA)
14 Therefore, I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah,^(AB)
and it will consume its citadels.
There will be shouting on the day of battle^(AC)
and a violent wind on the day of the storm.^(AD)
15 Their king and his princes
will go into exile together.^(AE)
The Lord has spoken.

I will not relent from punishing Moab^(AF)
for three crimes, even four,
because he burned the bones
of the king of Edom to lime.^(AG)
2 Therefore, I will send fire against Moab,
and it will consume the citadels of Kerioth.^(AH)
Moab will die with a tumult,^(AI)
with shouting and the sound of the ram’s horn.
³ I will cut off the judge^(AJ) from the land
and kill all its officials^(AK) with him.
The Lord has spoken.

I will not relent from punishing Judah^(AL)
for three crimes, even four,
because they have rejected the instruction of the Lord^(AM)
and have not kept His statutes.^(AN)
The lies^(AO) that their ancestors followed^(AP)
have led them astray.
⁵ Therefore, I will send fire^(AQ) against Judah,
and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.

I will not relent from punishing Israel^(AR)
for three crimes, even four,
because they sell a righteous person for silver
and a needy person for a pair of sandals.^(AS)
7 They trample the heads of the poor^(AT)
on the dust of the ground
and block the path of the needy.^(AU)
A man and his father have sexual relations
with the same girl,^(AV)
profaning My holy name.^(AW)
8 They stretch out beside every altar^(AX)
on garments taken as collateral,^(AY)
and in the house of their God,
they drink wine obtained through fines.^(AZ)

⁹ Yet I destroyed the Amorite^(BA) as Israel advanced;
his height^(BB) was like the cedars,
and he was as sturdy as the oaks;
I destroyed his fruit^(BC) above and his roots beneath.
¹⁰ And I brought you from the land of Egypt^(BD)
and led you 40 years in the wilderness^(BE)
in order to possess the land of the Amorite.^(BF)
11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets^(BG)
and some of your young men as Nazirites.^(BH)
Is this not the case, Israelites?
This is the Lord’s declaration.

¹² But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets,
“Do not prophesy.”^(BI)
13 Look, I am about to crush^[e] you in your place^(BJ)
as a wagon full of sheaves crushes grain.
¹⁴ Escape will fail the swift,^(BK)
the strong one will not prevail by his strength,^(BL)
and the brave will not save his life.
¹⁵ The archer will not stand his ground,^(BM)
the one who is swift of foot
will not save himself,
and the one riding a horse will not save his life.^(BN)
16 Even the most courageous of the warriors
will flee naked on that day^(BO)—
this is the Lord’s declaration.

² I have known only you^(BQ)
out of all the clans of the earth;
therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.^(BR)
3 Can two walk together^(BS)
without agreeing to meet?^[f]
4 Does a lion roar^(BT) in the forest
when it has no prey?
Does a young lion growl from its lair
unless it has captured something?
⁵ Does a bird land in a trap on the ground
if there is no bait for it?
Does a trap spring from the ground
when it has caught nothing?
⁶ If a ram’s horn^(BU) is blown in a city,
aren’t people afraid?^(BV)
If a disaster^(BW) occurs in a city,
hasn’t the Lord done it?^(BX)
7 Indeed, the Lord God does nothing
without revealing His counsel
to His servants the prophets.^(BY)
8 A lion has roared;^(BZ)
who will not fear?
The Lord God has spoken;^(CA)
who will not prophesy?^(CB)

⁹ Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod^(CC)
and on the citadels in the land of Egypt:
Assemble on the mountains of Samaria^(CD)
and see the great turmoil in the city
and the acts of oppression within it.^(CE)
10 The people are incapable of doing right^(CF)—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
those who store up violence and destruction^(CG)
in their citadels.

An enemy^(CH) will surround the land;
he will destroy^(CI) your strongholds
and plunder your citadels.^(CJ)

As the shepherd snatches two legs
or a piece of an ear
from the lion’s mouth,^(CK)
so the Israelites who live in Samaria
will be rescued
with only the corner of a bed^(CL)
or the^[g] cushion^[h] of a couch.^[i](CM)

¹³ Listen and testify^(CN) against the house of Jacob—
this is the declaration of the Lord God,
the God of Hosts.
¹⁴ I will punish the altars of Bethel^(CO)
on the day I punish Israel for its crimes;
the horns of the altar^(CP) will be cut off
and fall to the ground.^(CQ)
15 I will demolish the winter house^(CR)
and the summer house;^(CS)
the houses inlaid with ivory^(CT) will be destroyed,
and the great houses^(CU) will come to an end.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

Look, the days are coming^[j]
when you will be taken away with hooks,^(DA)
every last one of you with fishhooks.^(DB)
3 You will go through breaches in the wall,^(DC)
each woman straight ahead,
and you will be driven along toward Harmon.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

⁴ Come to Bethel and rebel;
rebel even more at Gilgal!^(DD)
Bring your sacrifices every morning,^(DE)
your tenths every three days.
⁵ Offer leavened bread as a thank offering,^(DF)
and loudly proclaim your freewill offerings,^(DG)
for that is what you Israelites love to do!^(DH)
This is the Lord’s declaration.

⁷ I also withheld the rain from you^(DK)
while there were still three months until harvest.
I sent rain on one city
but no rain on another.^(DL)
One field received rain
while a field with no rain withered.^(DM)
8 Two or three cities staggered
to another city to drink water^(DN)
but were not satisfied,^(DO)
yet you did not return^(DP) to Me.
This is the Lord’s declaration.

⁹ I struck you with blight and mildew;^(DQ)
the locust devoured^(DR)
your many gardens and vineyards,
your fig trees and olive trees,^(DS)
yet you did not return to Me.^(DT)
This is the Lord’s declaration.

¹⁰ I sent plagues like those of Egypt;^(DU)
I killed your young men with the sword,^(DV)
along with your captured horses.^(DW)
I caused the stench of your camp
to fill your nostrils,^(DX)
yet you did not return to Me.^(DY)
This is the Lord’s declaration.

¹¹ I overthrew some of you
as I^[l] overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,^(DZ)
and you were like a burning stick
snatched from a fire,^(EA)
yet you did not return to Me^(EB)—
this is the Lord’s declaration.

¹² Therefore, Israel, that is what I will do to you,
and since I will do that to you,
Israel, prepare to meet your God!^(EC)
13 He is here:
the One who forms the mountains,^(ED)
creates the wind,^(EE)
and reveals His^[m] thoughts to man,^(EF)
the One who makes the dawn out of darkness
and strides on the heights of the earth.^(EG)
Yahweh, the God of Hosts, is His name.^(EH)

² She has fallen;
Virgin Israel^(EJ) will never rise again.^(EK)
She lies abandoned on her land,
with no one to raise her up.^(EL)

The city that marches out a thousand strong
will have only a hundred left,^(EM)
and the one that marches out a hundred strong
will have only ten left^(EN) in the house of Israel.

Seek Me and live!^(EO)
5 Do not seek Bethel^(EP)
or go to Gilgal^(EQ)
or journey to Beer-sheba,^(ER)
for Gilgal will certainly go into exile,
and Bethel will come to nothing.
⁶ Seek Yahweh^(ES) and live,
or He will spread like fire^(ET)
throughout the house of Joseph;
it will consume everything,
with no one at Bethel to extinguish it.^(EU)
7 Those who turn justice into wormwood^(EV)
throw righteousness to the ground.

⁸ The One who made the Pleiades and Orion,^(EW)
who turns darkness^[n] into dawn^(EX)
and darkens day into night,^(EY)
who summons the waters of the sea^(EZ)
and pours them out over the face of the earth^(FA)—
Yahweh is His name.^(FB)
9 He brings destruction^[o] on the strong,^[p](FC)
and it falls on the stronghold.^(FD)

¹⁰ They hate the one who convicts the guilty^(FE)
at the city gate
and despise^(FF) the one who speaks with integrity.
¹¹ Therefore, because you trample on the poor^(FG)
and exact a grain tax from him,
you will never live in the houses of cut stone^(FH)
you have built;
you will never drink the wine
from the lush vineyards
you have planted.^(FI)
12 For I know your crimes are many
and your sins innumerable.
They oppress the righteous,^(FJ) take a bribe,
and deprive the poor of justice^(FK) at the gates.
¹³ Therefore, the wise person will keep silent^[q](FL)
at such a time,
for the days are evil.

¹⁴ Seek good and not evil
so that you may live,
and the Lord, the God of Hosts,
will be with you,
as you have claimed.^(FM)
15 Hate evil and love good;^(FN)
establish justice in the gate.^(FO)
Perhaps the Lord, the God of Hosts, will be gracious^(FP)
to the remnant of Joseph.^(FQ)

There will be wailing in all the public squares;^(FR)
they will cry out in anguish^[r] in all the streets.
The farmer will be called on to mourn,^(FS)
and professional mourners^[s](FT) to wail.
¹⁷ There will be wailing in all the vineyards,^(FU)
for I will pass among you.^(FV)
The Lord has spoken.