Condemning Neighboring Nations, Judah, and Israel

Amos 1–2 (selections)

Biblical Period

Chapter 1

¹The words of Amos, a sheepbreeder from Tekoa, who prophesied concerning Israel in the reigns of Kings Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

²He proclaimed:

The Lord roars from Zion,

Shouts aloud from Jerusalem;

And the pastures of the shepherds shall languish,

And the summit of Carmel shall wither. [ . . . ]

⁶Thus said the Lord:

For three transgressions of Gaza,

For four, I will not revoke it:

Because they exiled^a an entire population,

Which they delivered to Edom.

⁷I will send down fire upon the wall of Gaza,

And it shall devour its fortresses;

⁸And I will wipe out the inhabitants of Ashdod

And the sceptered ruler of Ashkelon;

And I will turn My hand against Ekron,

And the Philistines shall perish to the last man

—said the Lord God. [ . . . ]

¹³Thus said the Lord:

For three transgressions of the Ammonites,

For four, I will not revoke it:

Because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead

In order to enlarge their own territory.

¹⁴I will set fire to the wall of Rabbah,

And it shall devour its fortresses,

Amid shouting on a day of battle,

On a day of violent tempest.

¹⁵Their king and his officers shall go

Into exile together

—said the Lord.

Chapter 2

¹Thus said the Lord:

For three transgressions of Moab,

For four, I will not revoke it:

Because he burned the bones

Of the king of Edom to lime.

²I will send down fire upon Moab,

And it shall devour the fortresses of Kerioth.

And Moab shall die in tumult,

Amid shouting and the blare of horns;

³I will wipe out the ruler from within her

And slay all her officials along with him

—said the Lord.

⁴Thus said the Lord:

For three transgressions of Judah,

For four, I will not revoke it:

Because they have spurned the Teaching of the Lord

And have not observed His laws;

They are beguiled by the delusions

After which their fathers walked.

⁵I will send down fire upon Judah,

And it shall devour the fortresses of Jerusalem.

⁶Thus said the Lord:

For three transgressions of Israel,

For four, I will not revoke it:

Because they have sold for silver

Those whose cause was just,

And the needy for a pair of sandals.

⁷[Ah,] you who trample the heads of the poor

Into the dust of the ground,

And make the humble walk a twisted course!

Father and son go to the same girl,

And thereby profane My holy name.

⁸They recline by every altar

On garments taken in pledge,

And drink in the House of their God

Wine bought with fines they imposed.

⁹Yet I

Destroyed the Amorite before them,

Whose stature was like the cedar’s

And who was stout as the oak,

Destroying his boughs above

And his trunk below!

¹⁰And I

Brought you up from the land of Egypt

And led you through the wilderness forty years,

To possess the land of the Amorite!

¹¹And I raised up prophets from among your sons

And nazirites from among your young men.

Is that not so, O people of Israel?

—says the Lord.

¹²But you made the nazirites drink wine

And ordered the prophets not to prophesy.

¹³Ah, I will slow your movements

As a wagon is slowed

When it is full of cut grain.

¹⁴Flight shall fail the swift,

The strong shall find no strength,

And the warrior shall not save his life.

¹⁵The bowman shall not hold his ground,

And the fleet-footed shall not escape,

Nor the horseman save his life.

¹⁶Even the most stouthearted warrior

Shall run away unarmed that day

—declares the Lord.

Notes

I.e., they cooperated in the annexation of Israelite territory.

Credits

Published in: The Posen Library of Jewish Culture and Civilization, vol. 1.

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About Amos

Amos was an eighth-century BCE prophet, active primarily in the Northern Kingdom, although parts of the book were written later, after the fall of Judah (see 9:11: “The fallen booth of David”). The book emphasizes the primacy of Jerusalem/Zion and condemns the northern sanctuary at Bethel as well as the Northern Kingdom and its ruling dynasty. Amos was concerned with social justice; he preached the importance of morality over routine worship. And he called for repentance. He taught that Israel’s election as God’s chosen people entails accountability for sin, not special immunity from punishment. The “Day of the Lord,” which his audience hoped for as a day of salvation, would be, according to Amos, a day of punishment for sin. Rhetorical questions and symbolic visions characterize the book.

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Condemning Neighboring Nations, Judah, and Israel

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Notes

Credits

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Condemning Neighboring Nations, Judah, and Israel

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