Amos 2:1
New International Version
This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Moab, even for four, I will not relent. Because he burned to ashes the bones of Edom’s king,

New Living Translation
This is what the LORD says: “The people of Moab have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They desecrated the bones of Edom’s king, burning them to ashes.

English Standard Version
Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom.

Berean Standard Bible
This 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.

King James Bible
Thus 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:

New King James Version
Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.

New American Standard Bible
This is what the LORD says: “For three offenses of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke its punishment, Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.

NASB 1995
Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Moab and for four I will not revoke its punishment, Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.

NASB 1977
Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Moab and for four I will not revoke its punishment, Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.

Legacy Standard Bible
Thus says Yahweh, “For three transgressions of Moab and for four I will not turn back its punishment Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.

Amplified Bible
Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Moab and for four (multiplied delinquencies) I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it, Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom [Esau’s descendant] into lime [and used it to plaster a Moabite house].

Christian Standard Bible
The LORD says: I will not relent from punishing Moab for three crimes, even four, because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The LORD says: I will not relent from punishing Moab for three crimes, even four, because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.

American Standard Version
Thus 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:

Contemporary English Version
The LORD said: I will punish Moab for countless crimes, and I won't change my mind. They made lime from the bones of the king of Edom.

English Revised Version
Thus saith the LORD: 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:

GOD'S WORD® Translation
This is what the LORD says: Because Moab has committed three crimes, and now a fourth crime, I will not change my plans. The Moabites have cremated Edom's king.

Good News Translation
The LORD says, "The people of Moab have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They dishonored the bones of the king of Edom by burning them to ashes.

International Standard Version
This is what the LORD says: "For three transgressions of Moab because they cremated the bones of the king of Edom, burning them to lime.

Majority Standard Bible
This 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.

NET Bible
This 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.

New Heart English Bible
Thus says the LORD: "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;

Webster's Bible Translation
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away his punishment: because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime:

World English Bible
Yahweh 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;
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Thus said YHWH: “For three transgressions of Moab, "" And for four, I do not reverse it, "" Because of his burning the bones of the king of Edom to lime,

Young's Literal Translation
Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Moab, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of his burning the bones of the king of Edom to lime,

Smith's Literal Translation
Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn it back, for they burnt the bones of the king of Edom into lime:
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Thus saith the Lord: For three crimes of Moab, and for four I will not convert him: because he hath burnt the bones of the king of Edom even to ashes.

Catholic Public Domain Version
Thus says the Lord: For three wicked deeds of Moab, and for four, I will not convert him, in so far as he has burned the bones of the king of Idumea, all the way to ashes.

New American Bible
Thus says the LORD: For three crimes of Moab, and now four— I will not take it back— Because he burned to ashes the bones of Edom’s king,

New Revised Standard Version
Thus says the LORD: For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
THUS says the LORD: For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment from the people thereof, because they burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime;

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Thus says LORD JEHOVAH: for three crimes of Moab, and the fourth, I will not turn from them, because they burned the bones of the King of Edom into lime
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Thus saith the LORD: For three transgressions of Moab, Yea, for four, I will not reverse it: Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Thus saith the Lord; For three sins of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away from it; because they burnt the bones of the king of Idumea to lime.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Judgment on Moab, Judah, and Israel
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.…

Cross References
Isaiah 15:1-9
This is the burden against Moab: Ar in Moab is ruined, destroyed in a night! Kir in Moab is devastated, destroyed in a night! / Dibon goes up to its temple to weep at its high places. Moab wails over Nebo, as well as over Medeba. Every head is shaved, every beard is cut off. / In its streets they wear sackcloth; on the rooftops and in the public squares they all wail, falling down weeping. ...

Jeremiah 48:1-47
Concerning Moab, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: “Woe to Nebo, for it will be devastated. Kiriathaim will be captured and disgraced; the fortress will be shattered and dismantled. / There is no longer praise for Moab; in Heshbon they devise evil against her: ‘Come, let us cut her off from nationhood.’ You too, O people of Madmen, will be silenced; the sword will pursue you. / A voice cries out from Horonaim: ‘Devastation and great destruction!’ ...

Ezekiel 25:8-11
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Because Moab and Seir said, “Look, the house of Judah is like all the other nations,” / therefore I will indeed expose the flank of Moab beginning with its frontier cities—Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon, and Kiriathaim—the glory of the land. / I will give it along with the Ammonites as a possession to the people of the East, so that the Ammonites will no longer be remembered among the nations. ...

2 Kings 3:4-27
Now Mesha king of Moab was a sheep breeder, and he would render to the king of Israel a hundred thousand lambs and the wool of a hundred thousand rams. / But after the death of Ahab, the king of Moab rebelled against the king of Israel. / So at that time King Jehoram set out from Samaria and mobilized all Israel. ...

Isaiah 16:1-14
Send the tribute lambs to the ruler of the land, from Sela in the desert to the mount of Daughter Zion. / Like fluttering birds pushed out of the nest, so are the daughters of Moab at the fords of the Arnon: / “Give us counsel; render a decision. Shelter us at noonday with shade as dark as night. Hide the refugees; do not betray the one who flees. ...

Jeremiah 9:25-26
“Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will punish all who are circumcised only in the flesh— / Egypt, Judah, Edom, Ammon, Moab, and all the inhabitants of the desert who clip the hair of their temples. For all these nations are uncircumcised, and the whole house of Israel is uncircumcised in heart.”

Zephaniah 2:8-11
“I have heard the reproach of Moab and the insults of the Ammonites, who have taunted My people and threatened their borders. / Therefore, as surely as I live,” declares the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, “surely Moab will be like Sodom and the Ammonites like Gomorrah—a place of weeds and salt pits, a perpetual wasteland. The remnant of My people will plunder them; the remainder of My nation will dispossess them.” / This they shall have in return for their pride, for taunting and mocking the people of the LORD of Hosts. ...

Numbers 21:29
Woe to you, O Moab! You are destroyed, O people of Chemosh! He gave up his sons as refugees, and his daughters into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.

Deuteronomy 2:9
Then the LORD said to me, “Do not harass the Moabites or provoke them to war, for I will not give you any of their land, because I have given Ar to the descendants of Lot as their possession.”

Psalm 60:8
Moab is My washbasin; upon Edom I toss My sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

Psalm 108:9
Moab is My washbasin; upon Edom I toss My sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

Isaiah 25:10-12
For the hand of the LORD will rest on this mountain. But Moab will be trampled in his place as straw is trodden into the dung pile. / He will spread out his hands within it, as a swimmer spreads his arms to swim. His pride will be brought low, despite the skill of his hands. / The high-walled fortress will be brought down, cast to the ground, into the dust.

Jeremiah 25:21
Edom, Moab, and the Ammonites;

Jeremiah 27:3
Send word to the kings of Edom, Moab, Ammon, Tyre, and Sidon through the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.

Jeremiah 48:40-47
For this is what the LORD says: “Behold, an eagle swoops down and spreads his wings against Moab. / Kirioth has been taken, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor. / Moab will be destroyed as a nation because he vaunted himself against the LORD. ...


Treasury of Scripture

Thus said 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:

For three.

Amos 2:4,6
Thus 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: …

Amos 1:3,6,9,11,13
Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron: …

Numbers 22:1-25:18
And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho…

of Moab.

Isaiah 11:14
But they shall fly upon the shoulders of the Philistines toward the west; they shall spoil them of the east together: they shall lay their hand upon Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon shall obey them.

Isaiah 15:1-16:14
The burden of Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste, and brought to silence; …

Isaiah 25:10
For in this mountain shall the hand of the LORD rest, and Moab shall be trodden down under him, even as straw is trodden down for the dunghill.

because.

2 Kings 3:9,26
So the king of Israel went, and the king of Judah, and the king of Edom: and they fetched a compass of seven days' journey: and there was no water for the host, and for the cattle that followed them…

Proverbs 15:3
The eyes of the LORD are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.

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Amos 2
1. God's judgments upon Moab,
4. upon Judah,
6. and upon Israel.
9. God complains of their ingratitude.














This is what the LORD says
This phrase introduces a divine oracle, emphasizing the authority and sovereignty of God. In Hebrew, "Yahweh" is used, the covenant name of God, underscoring His unchanging nature and His relationship with His people. This introduction sets the tone for a message that is not merely a human opinion but a divine decree, demanding attention and reverence.

For three transgressions of Moab, even four
This expression is a Hebrew idiom used throughout the book of Amos, indicating a fullness or completeness of sin. The number three represents completeness, and adding a fourth suggests an overflow or abundance of transgressions. This pattern highlights the persistent and escalating nature of Moab's sins, suggesting that their iniquity has reached a tipping point that demands divine intervention.

I will not revoke its punishment
The Hebrew root here conveys the idea of turning back or relenting. God's decision is firm and unchangeable, reflecting His justice and righteousness. This phrase underscores the seriousness of Moab's actions and the certainty of divine judgment. It serves as a sobering reminder that God's patience, though long-suffering, has limits when confronted with persistent sin.

because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime
This act of desecration is both a historical and moral offense. In ancient Near Eastern culture, proper burial was a sacred duty, and to burn bones was a profound disrespect, indicating deep animosity and contempt. The historical context suggests a violation of international norms and a breach of human decency. This specific transgression highlights the severity of Moab's actions, which not only offended human dignity but also provoked divine wrath. The reference to Edom, a neighboring nation, underscores the interconnectedness of these ancient peoples and the broader implications of Moab's sin.

II.

CURSE ON MOAB.

(1) Comp. Isaiah 15, 16, Isaiah 25:10-12, and Jeremiah 48 Translate "burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom." The historical reference is obscure. (See 2Kings 3:26-27.) Whether Moab was guilty of desecrating royal tombs, or offering the heir of the king of Edom in sacrifice, cannot be determined. When Moab took revenge upon Edom, the latter was subject to Jehoram.

Verses 1-3. - Judgment on Moab. Verse 1. - Moab. The prophet now denounces the other nation connected by ties of blood with Israel (see on Amos 1:13). Moab's hostility had been shown in the hiring of Balsam to curse the Israelites, and in seducing them to idolatry (Numbers 22-25:3). He was their oppressor in the time of the Judges (Judges 3:12); and David had to take most stringent measures against him (2 Samuel 8:2). The Moabites joined in a league against Jehoshaphat (2 Chronicles 20:22), and later against Jehoiakim (2 Kings 24:2), and, as we see by the inscription on the Moabite Stone, were always ready to profit by the disasters or weakness of the chosen people. "I erected this stone," says Mesha, "to Chemosh at Kirkha, a stone of salvation, for he saved me from all despoilers, and made me see my desire upon all mine enemies, even upon Omri, King of Israel." And then he goes on to recount his victories. He burned the bones of the King of Edom into lime. This profanation of the corpse of the King of Edom (see 2 Kings 23:16; Jeremiah 8:1, 2) is not mentioned in the historical books. Some of the older commentators, as Tirinus and Corn. a Lapide, think that the prophet wishes to show that the sympathy of God extends beyond the covenant people, and that he punishes wrongs inflicted even on heathen nations. But as in the case of the other nations, Amos reproves only crimes committed against Israel or Judah, so the present outrage must have the same connection. The reference to the King of Moab's sacrifice of "his eldest son," even if we suppose (which is improbable) the son of the King of Edom to be meant, is plainly inapplicable (2 Kings 3:27), as the offence regarded the king himself, and not his son, and the expression, "burned into lime," can hardly be thought to refer to a human sacrifice. The act mentioned probably occurred during the time that the Edomites joined Jehoram and Jehoshaphat in the league against Mesha, the King of Moab (2 Kings 3:7, 9), the author of the inscription on the celebrated stone erected by him at Dibon. Unfortunately, the last lines of that inscription, describing the war against the Edomites, are lost. The paragraph that remains is this: "And Chemosh said to me, Go down, make war against Horonaim [i.e. the men of Edom], and take... Chemosh... in my days. Wherefore I made... year ... and I..." The Jewish tradition, quoted by Jerome, tells that after this war the Moabites, in revenge for the assistance which the King of Edom had given to the Israelites, dug up and dishonoured his bones. Edom was then in vassalage to Israel, but regained its independence some ten years later (2 Kings 8:20). The sacrilegious act was meant to redound to the disgrace of Israel

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
This is what
כֹּ֚ה (kōh)
Adverb
Strong's 3541: Like this, thus, here, now

the LORD
יְהוָ֔ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

says:
אָמַ֣ר (’ā·mar)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

“For
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

three
שְׁלֹשָׁה֙ (šə·lō·šāh)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 7969: Three, third, thrice

transgressions
פִּשְׁעֵ֣י (piš·‘ê)
Noun - masculine plural construct
Strong's 6588: Transgression

of Moab,
מוֹאָ֔ב (mō·w·’āḇ)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4124: Moab -- a son of Lot,also his descendants and the territory where they settled

even
וְעַל־ (wə·‘al-)
Conjunctive waw | Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

four,
אַרְבָּעָ֖ה (’ar·bā·‘āh)
Number - masculine singular
Strong's 702: Four

I will not
לֹ֣א (lō)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3808: Not, no

revoke [My judgment],
אֲשִׁיבֶ֑נּוּ (’ă·šî·ḇen·nū)
Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - first person common singular | third person masculine singular
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again

because
עַל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

he burned
שָׂרְפ֛וֹ (śā·rə·p̄ōw)
Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 8313: To be, on fire

the bones
עַצְמ֥וֹת (‘aṣ·mō·wṯ)
Noun - feminine plural construct
Strong's 6106: A bone, the body, the substance, selfsame

of the king
מֶֽלֶךְ־ (me·leḵ-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4428: A king

of Edom
אֱד֖וֹם (’ĕ·ḏō·wm)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 123: The name of a condiment

to lime.
לַשִּֽׂיד׃ (laś·śîḏ)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 7875: Lime, whitewash


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OT Prophets: Amos 2:1 Thus says Yahweh: For three transgressions (Amo. Am)
Amos 1:15
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