A Work in Progress Bible Commentary
By: Chip Crush

AMOS
CHAPTER 1

1 The words of Amos, one of the shepherds of Tekoa-what he saw concerning Israel two years before the earthquake, when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash [1] was king of Israel.
2 He said:

"The LORD roars from Zion
and thunders from Jerusalem;
the pastures of the shepherds dry up, [2]
and the top of Carmel withers."



Judgment on Israel's Neighbors
3 This is what the LORD says:

"For three sins of Damascus,
even for four, I will not turn back my wrath .
Because she threshed Gilead
with sledges having iron teeth,
4 I will send fire upon the house of Hazael
that will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad.
5 I will break down the gate of Damascus;
I will destroy the king who is in [3] the Valley of Aven [4]
and the one who holds the scepter in Beth Eden.
The people of Aram will go into exile to Kir,"
says the LORD .

6 This is what the LORD says:

"For three sins of Gaza,
even for four, I will not turn back my wrath .
Because she took captive whole communities
and sold them to Edom,
7 I will send fire upon the walls of Gaza
that will consume her fortresses.
8 I will destroy the king [5] of Ashdod
and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.
I will turn my hand against Ekron,
till the last of the Philistines is dead,"
says the Sovereign LORD .

9 This is what the LORD says:

"For three sins of Tyre,
even for four, I will not turn back my wrath .
Because she sold whole communities of captives to Edom,
disregarding a treaty of brotherhood,
10 I will send fire upon the walls of Tyre
that will consume her fortresses."

11 This is what the LORD says:

"For three sins of Edom,
even for four, I will not turn back my wrath .
Because he pursued his brother with a sword,
stifling all compassion, [6]
because his anger raged continually
and his fury flamed unchecked,
12 I will send fire upon Teman
that will consume the fortresses of Bozrah."

13 This is what the LORD says:

"For three sins of Ammon,
even for four, I will not turn back {my wrath}.
Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead
in order to extend his borders,
14 I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah
that will consume her fortresses
amid war cries on the day of battle,
amid violent winds on a stormy day.
15 Her king [7] will go into exile,
he and his officials together,"
says the LORD .



Footnotes


  1. 1:1 Hebrew Joash , a variant of Jehoash
  2. 1:2 Or shepherds mourn
  3. 1:5 Or the inhabitants of
  4. 1:5 Aven means wickedness .
  5. 1:8 Or inhabitants
  6. 1:11 Or sword / and destroyed his allies
  7. 1:15 Or / Molech ; Hebrew malcam


Bible text from Gospelcom.net.  Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.

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