Amos 1
Contemporary English Version

1 I am Amos. And I raised sheep near the town of Tekoa+ when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam+ son of Jehoash+ was king of Israel.

Two years before the earthquake,+ the Lord gave me several messages+ about Israel, 2 and I said:

When the Lord roars

from Jerusalem,

pasturelands and Mount Carmel

dry up and turn brown.

Judgment on Syria

3 The Lord said:

I will punish Syria+

for countless crimes,

and I won't change my mind.

They dragged logs with spikes+

over the people of Gilead.

4Now I will burn down the palaces

and fortresses of King Hazael

and of King Benhadad.+

5I will break through

the gates of Damascus.

I will destroy the people+

of Wicked Valley+

and the ruler of Beth-Eden.+

Then the Syrians will be dragged

as prisoners to Kir.+

I, the Lord, have spoken!

Judgment on Philistia

6 The Lord said:

I will punish Philistia+

for countless crimes,

and I won't change my mind.

They dragged off my people+

from town after town

to sell them as slaves

to the Edomites.

7That's why I will burn down

the walls and fortresses

of the city of Gaza.

8I will destroy the king+ of Ashdod

and the ruler of Ashkelon.

I will strike down Ekron,+

and that will be the end

of the Philistines.

I, the Lord, have spoken!

Judgment on Phoenicia

9 The Lord said:

I will punish Phoenicia+

for countless crimes,

and I won't change my mind.

They broke their treaty

and dragged off my people+

from town after town

to sell them as slaves

to the Edomites.

10That's why I will send flames

to burn down the city of Tyre

along with its fortresses.

Judgment on Edom

11 The Lord said:

I will punish Edom

for countless crimes,

and I won't change my mind.

They killed their own relatives+

and were so terribly furious

that they showed no mercy.

12Now I will send fire to wipe out

the fortresses of Teman

and Bozrah.+

Judgment on Ammon

13 The Lord said:

I will punish Ammon

for countless crimes,

and I won't change my mind.

In Gilead they ripped open

pregnant women,

just to take the land.

14Now I will send fire to destroy

the walls and fortresses

of Rabbah.+

Enemies will shout and attack

like a whirlwind.

15Ammon's king and leaders

will be dragged away.

I, the Lord, have spoken!




Footnotes:

1.1 Tekoa: In the hill country of Judah about eight kilometers south of Bethlehem.
1.1 Uzziah … Jeroboam: Uzziah was king of Judah 781–740 b.c., and Jeroboam II was king of Israel 783–743 b.c.
1.1 Jehoash: The Hebrew text has “Joash,” another spelling of the name.
1.1 Two years … earthquake: Possibly the earthquake of 760 b.c., which seems to have been especially violent.
1.1 messages: Or “visions.”
1.3 Syria: The Hebrew text has “Damascus,” the leading city of Syria.
1.3 logs with spikes: These were dragged over grain to thresh it.
1.4 Hazael … Benhadad: Two Syrian kings.
1.5 people: Or “king.”
1.5 Wicked Valley: The Hebrew text has “Aven Valley,” probably the fertile valley between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountains.
1.5 I will … Beth-Eden: Or “I will destroy the people of Wicked Valley and the king who rules from Beth-Eden.” Beth-Eden was a city-state on the banks of the Euphrates River.
1.5 Kir: The exact location of this country is not known; in 9.7 Amos refers to Kir as the original home of the Syrians, and so the verse probably means that the Syrians will lose everything they have gained as a people.
1.6 Philistia: The Hebrew text has “Gaza,” one of the main Philistine cities.
1.6 my people: The people of Israel.
1.8 king: Or “people.”
1.8 Ashdod … Ashkelon … Ekron: Philistine cities.
1.9 Phoenicia: The Hebrew text has “Tyre,” which was one of the two Phoenician cities; the other was Sidon, which is not mentioned by Amos.
1.9 my people: See the note at 1.6.
1.11 their own relatives: The Edomites were descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob, the ancestor of the Israelites.
1.12 Teman and Bozrah: These stand for all of Edom; Teman may have been a city or a district. Bozrah, the chief city of northern Edom, was 48 kilometers southeast of the Dead Sea.
1.14 Rabbah: The capital city of Ammon.


Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)

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