Amos — Chapter 2
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1This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Moab, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because he burned to lime the bones of Edom’s king.
2So I will send fire against Moab to consume the citadels of Kerioth. Moab will die in tumult, amid war cries and the sound of the ram’s horn.
3I will cut off the ruler of Moab and kill all the officials with him,” says the LORD.
4This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Judah, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they reject the Law of the LORD and fail to keep His statutes; they are led astray by the lies in which their fathers walked.
5So I will send fire upon Judah to consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”
6This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Israel, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they sell the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals.
7They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the earth; they push the needy out of their way. A man and his father have relations with the same girl and so profane My holy name.
8They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. And in the house of their God, they drink wine obtained through fines.
9Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, though his height was like that of the cedars, and he was as strong as the oaks. Yet I destroyed his fruit above and his roots below.
10And I brought you up from the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, that you might take possession of the land of the Amorite.
11I raised up prophets from your sons and Nazirites from your young men. Is this not true, O children of Israel?” declares the LORD.
12“But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.
13Behold, I am about to crush you in your place as with a cart full of grain.
14Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life.
15The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet of foot will not escape, and the horseman will not save his life.
16Even the bravest of mighty men will flee naked on that day,” declares the LORD.
1Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:
2But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kirioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:
3And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the LORD.
4Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:
5But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
6Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes;
7That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name:
8And they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.
9Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
10Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
11And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.
12But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.
13Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.
14Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself:
15Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.
16And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.
1Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Moab, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:
2but I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet;
3and I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith Jehovah.
4Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have rejected the law of Jehovah, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers did walk:
5but I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
6Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes-
7they that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father go unto the [same] maiden, to profane my holy name:
8and they lay themselves down beside every altar upon clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of such as have been fined.
9Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
10Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
11And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith Jehovah.
12But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.
13Behold, I will press [you] in your place, as a cart presseth that is full of sheaves.
14And flight shall perish from the swift; and the strong shall not strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself;
15neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver [himself]; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself;
16and he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith Jehovah.
1This is what the Lord says: “Because Moab has committed three crimes— make that four—I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime.
2So I will set Moab on fire, and it will consume Kerioth’s fortresses. Moab will perish in the heat of battle amid war cries and the blaring of the ram’s horn.
3I will remove Moab’s leader; I will kill all Moab’s officials with him.” The Lord has spoken!
4This is what the Lord says: “Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions— make that four—I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They rejected the Lord’s law; they did not obey his commands. Their false gods, to which their fathers were loyal, led them astray.
5So I will set Judah on fire, and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.”
6This is what the Lord says: “Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions— make that four—I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold the innocent for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals.
7They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; they push the destitute away. A man and his father go to the same girl; in this way they show disrespect for my moral purity.
8They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral; they do so right beside every altar! They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied; they do so right in the temple of their God!
9For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites. They were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks, but I destroyed the fruit on their branches and their roots in the ground.
10I brought you up from the land of Egypt; I led you through the wilderness for 40 years so you could take the Amorites’ land as your own.
11I made some of your sons prophets and some of your young men Nazirites. Is this not true, you Israelites?” The Lord is speaking.
12“But you made the Nazirites drink wine; you commanded the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy!’
13Look! I will press you down, like a cart loaded down with grain presses down.
14Fast runners will find no place to hide; strong men will have no strength left; warriors will not be able to save their lives.
15Archers will not hold their ground; fast runners will not save their lives, nor will those who ride horses.
16Bravehearted warriors will run away naked in that day.” The Lord is speaking.
1Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Moab, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime;
2but I will send a fire on Moab, and it will devour the palaces of Kerioth; and Moab will die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet;
3and I will cut off the judge from among them, and will kill all its princes with him,” says Yahweh.
4Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Judah, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have rejected Yahweh’s law, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have led them astray, after which their fathers walked;
5but I will send a fire on Judah, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”
6Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Israel, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes;
7They trample on the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and deny justice to the oppressed; and a man and his father use the same maiden, to profane my holy name;
8and they lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.
9Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.
10Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
11I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazirites. Isn’t this true, you children of Israel?” says Yahweh.
12“But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘Don’t prophesy!’
13Behold, I will crush you in your place, as a cart crushes that is full of grain.
14Flight will perish from the swift; and the strong won’t strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself;
15neither shall he stand who handles the bow; and he who is swift of foot won’t escape; neither shall he who rides the horse deliver himself;
16and he who is courageous among the mighty will flee away naked on that day,” says Yahweh.
Summary
The judgment oracles continue against Moab, condemned for desecrating the bones of Edom's king (vv. 1-3), and against Judah for rejecting the LORD's law (vv. 4-5). The cycle then closes on Israel itself: sellers trade the righteous for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and trample the poor into the dust (vv. 6-8). God recalls how He destroyed the Amorites before them and brought Israel out of Egypt, raising up prophets and Nazirites, only to have Israel silence the prophets and corrupt the Nazirites with wine (vv. 9-12). As a result, the LORD declares that not even the swiftest or strongest will escape His judgment on that day (vv. 13-16).
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
- Edom (v.1): Land south of the Dead Sea; descendants of Esau.
- Moab (v.1, v.2): Land east of the Dead Sea; often in conflict with Israel.
- Jerusalem (v.5): Capital of Judah; the holy city where the Temple stood.
- Egypt (v.10): Land to the southwest; place of Israel's bondage and exodus.
Places on this map
- Edomsouthern JordanThe red sandstone highlands south-east of the Dead Sea, holding the King's Highway and later Petra. Settlements sat behind cliffs and narrow gorges, which is the pride Obadiah addresses when he speaks to those who dwell in the clefts of the rock. Wikipedia
- Dead SeaIsrael / JordanThe lowest exposed ground on earth, about 1,400 feet below sea level, and roughly ten times saltier than the ocean because water leaves only by evaporation. Nothing lives in it, which is the image Ezekiel 47 overturns when he has it filled with fish. Wikipedia
- Moabwest-central JordanThe plateau east of the Dead Sea, cut off from Israel by the rift valley and from Ammon by the Arnon gorge. High enough to farm grain, which is why Naomi's family went there in a famine. Wikipedia
- JerusalemJerusalemA hill town about 2,500 feet up in the central spine of Judah, roughly 35 miles inland from the Mediterranean and 15 miles west of the Jordan. It sits on no trade route and has no river, which is why it mattered as a fortress and a sanctuary rather than as a market. Wikipedia
- EgyptEgyptA ribbon of irrigated land along the Nile, ending in the Delta where Israel settled in Goshen. Rain-fed Canaan depended on weather; Egypt depended on a river that flooded on schedule, which made it the place everyone went when the harvest failed. Wikipedia
Towns sit on their excavated or traditional site. Regions, rivers and seas are ringed rather than dotted, because for those a single point is only an anchor. Coastlines from Natural Earth.
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Verse-by-verse commentary on this chapter, written for the everyday reader and freely available online.
- Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
- Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.
Videos
Articles
- GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Amos -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.
Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.
Reflection
- Selling People for the Price of Shoes (v.6) — Israel is condemned for selling the needy for the price of a pair of sandals, treating vulnerable people as disposable for trivial gain. How do you treat people who have nothing to offer you in return?
- Greater Privilege, Greater Accountability (vv.9-12) — Before listing Israel's sins, God recounts everything He did for them — deliverance, provision, victory — making their ingratitude the real indictment. What has God given you that raises your responsibility rather than just your comfort?
- Silencing the Prophets (v.12) — Israel commanded God's prophets not to speak, refusing correction rather than receiving it. When someone speaks a hard truth into your life, is your instinct to listen or to shut them down?
- No Strength Escapes Judgment (v.16) — Even the most courageous warrior will flee naked on the day of judgment, showing that no human ability can shield anyone from God's reckoning. What are you quietly trusting to protect you that won't hold up when it matters most?