Judgment on Neighboring Nations

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

2And 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].”

3Thus 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 [c]Hazael,

And it shall devour the palaces and strongholds of [d]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 [e]Kir,”

Says the LORD.

6Thus 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.

9Thus says the LORD,

“For three transgressions of Tyre and for four (multiplied delinquencies)

I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,

Because they [as middlemen] deported an entire [Jewish] population to Edom

And did not [seriously] remember their covenant of brotherhood.

10“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Tyre,

And it shall consume her citadels.”

11Thus says the LORD,

“For three transgressions of Edom [the descendants of Esau] and for four (multiplied delinquencies)

I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,

Because he pursued his brother Jacob (Israel) with the sword,

Corrupting and stifling his compassions and casting off all mercy;

His destructive anger raged continually,

And he maintained [and nurtured] his wrath forever.

12“So I will send a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] upon Teman,

And it shall consume the citadels of Bozrah [in Edom].”

13Thus says the LORD,

“For three transgressions of the children of [f]Ammon and for four (multiplied delinquencies)

I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,

Because the Ammonites have ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead,

That they might enlarge their border.

14“So I will kindle a fire [of war, conquest, and destruction] on the wall of Rabbah [in Ammon]

And it shall devour its strongholds

Amid war cries and shouts of alarm on the day of battle,

And a tempest on the day of the whirlwind [when the enemy captures the city].

15“Their king shall go into exile,

He and his princes together,” says the LORD.

[a] 1 Tekoa was a small town in Judah about 10 miles south of Jerusalem.
[b] 1 Amos was from the Southern Kingdom, Judah, but his message of divine judgment was primarily directed to the Northern Kingdom, Israel.
[c] 4 Hazael ruled from Damascus (842-796 B.C.) as king of Aram (Syria). He was an important official in the court of Hadadezer whom he assassinated and then succeeded.
[d] 4 Ben-hadad succeeded his father and ruled from 796-775 B.C.
[e] 5 Perhaps back to the homeland of the Arameans (Syrians). Its location is uncertain.
[f] 13 Descendants of Ben-ammi, the son born to Lot and his younger daughter (Gen 19:30-38).