Amos 1:1-8 ▼

1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders of Tekoa, which he saw [in a divine revelation] 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.

2 And he said, “The LORD thunders and roars from Zion [in judgment] And utters His voice from Jerusalem; Then the pastures of the shepherds mourn, And the summit of [Mount] Carmel dries up [because of God’s judgment].”

3 Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Damascus and for four (multiplied delinquencies) I shall not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it, Because they have threshed Gilead [east of the Jordan River] with sharp iron sledges [having spikes that crushed and shredded].

4 “So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon the house of Hazael, And it shall devour the palaces and strongholds of Ben-hadad (Hazael’s son).

5 “I also will break the bar [of the gate] of Damascus, And cut off and destroy the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven (Wickedness), And the ruler who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden (Damascus); And the people of Aram [conquered by the Assyrians] will go into exile to Kir,” Says the LORD.

6 Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Gaza [in Philistia] and for four (multiplied delinquencies) I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it, Because [as slave traders] they took captive the entire [Jewish] population [of defenseless Judean border villages, of which none was spared] And deported them to Edom [for the slave trade].

7 “So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Gaza And it shall consume her citadels.

8 “And I will cut off and destroy the inhabitants from Ashdod, And the ruler who holds the scepter, from Ashkelon; And I will unleash My power and turn My hand [in judgment] against Ekron, And the rest of the Philistines [in Gath and the towns dependent on these four Philistine cities] shall die,” Says the Lord GOD.