Book Order Plan

Amos 1-4

Amos 1

1The words of Amos, who was one of the sheep breeders from Tekoa  — what he saw regarding Israel in the days of King Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

2He said: The LORD roars from Zion and makes his voice heard from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the summit of Carmel withers.

3The LORD says: I will not relent from punishing Damascus for three crimes, even four, because they threshed Gilead with iron sledges.

4Therefore, I will send fire against Hazael’s palace, and it will consume Ben-hadad’s citadels.

5I will break down the gates of Damascus. I will cut off the ruler from the Valley of Aven, and the one who wields the scepter from Beth-eden. The people of Aram will be exiled to Kir. The LORD has spoken.

6The LORD says: I will not relent from punishing Gaza for three crimes, even four, because they exiled a whole community, handing them over to Edom.

7Therefore, I will send fire against the walls of Gaza, and it will consume its citadels.

8I will cut off the ruler from Ashdod, and the one who wields the scepter from Ashkelon. I will also turn my hand against Ekron, and the remainder of the Philistines will perish. The Lord GOD has spoken.

9The LORD says: I will not relent from punishing Tyre for three crimes, even four, because they handed over a whole community of exiles to Edom and broke a treaty of brotherhood.

10Therefore, I will send fire against the walls of Tyre, and it will consume its citadels.

11The LORD says: I will not relent from punishing Edom for three crimes, even four, because he pursued his brother with the sword. He stifled his compassion, his anger tore at him continually, and he harbored his rage incessantly.

12Therefore, I will send fire against Teman, and it will consume the citadels of Bozrah.

13The LORD says: I will not relent from punishing the Ammonites for three crimes, even four, because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to enlarge their territory.

14Therefore, I will set fire to the walls of Rabbah, and it will consume its citadels. There will be shouting on the day of battle and a violent wind on the day of the storm.

15Their king and his princes will go into exile together. The LORD has spoken.

Amos 2

1The 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.

2Therefore, I will send fire against Moab, and it will consume the citadels of Kerioth. Moab will die with a tumult, with shouting and the sound of the ram’s horn.

3I will cut off the judge from the land and kill all its officials with him. The LORD has spoken.

4The LORD says: I will not relent from punishing Judah for three crimes, even four, because they have rejected the instruction of the LORD and have not kept his statutes. The lies that their ancestors followed have led them astray.

5Therefore, I will send fire against Judah, and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.

6The LORD says: I will not relent from punishing Israel for three crimes, even four, because they sell a righteous person for silver and a needy person for a pair of sandals.

7They trample the heads of the poor on the dust of the ground and obstruct the path of the needy. A man and his father have sexual relations with the same girl, profaning my holy name.

8They stretch out beside every altar on garments taken as collateral, and in the house of their God they drink wine obtained through fines.

9Yet I destroyed the Amorite as Israel advanced; his height was like the cedars, and he was as sturdy as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.

10And I brought you from the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness in order to possess the land of the Amorite.

11I raised up some of your sons as prophets and some of your young men as Nazirites. Is this not the case, Israelites? This is the LORD’s declaration.

12But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets, “Do not prophesy.”

13Look, I am about to crush you in your place as a wagon crushes when full of grain.

14Escape will fail the swift, the strong one will not maintain his strength, and the warrior will not save his life.

15The archer will not stand his ground, the one who is swift of foot will not save himself, and the one riding a horse will not save his life.

16Even the most courageous of the warriors will flee naked on that day  — this is the LORD’s declaration.

Amos 3

1Listen to this message that the LORD has spoken against you, Israelites, against the entire clan that I brought from the land of Egypt:

2I have known only you out of all the clans of the earth; therefore, I will punish you for all your iniquities.

3Can two walk together without agreeing to meet?

4Does a lion roar in the forest when it has no prey? Does a young lion growl from its lair unless it has captured something?

5Does a bird land in a trap on the ground if there is no bait for it? Does a trap spring from the ground when it has caught nothing?

6If a ram’s horn is blown in a city, aren’t people afraid? If a disaster occurs in a city, hasn’t the LORD done it?

7Indeed, the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his counsel to his servants the prophets.

8A lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord GOD has spoken; who will not prophesy?

9Proclaim on the citadels in Ashdod and on the citadels in the land of Egypt: Assemble on the mountains of Samaria, and see the great turmoil in the city and the acts of oppression within it.

10The people are incapable of doing right  — this is the LORD’s declaration — those who store up violence and destruction in their citadels.

11Therefore, the Lord GOD says: An enemy will surround the land; he will destroy your strongholds and plunder your citadels.

12The LORD says: As the shepherd snatches two legs or a piece of an ear from the lion’s mouth, so the Israelites who live in Samaria will be rescued with only the corner of a bed or the cushion of a couch.

13Listen and testify against the house of Jacob — this is the declaration of the Lord GOD, the God of Armies.

14I will punish the altars of Bethel on the day I punish Israel for its crimes; the horns of the altar will be cut off and fall to the ground.

15I will demolish the winter house and the summer house; the houses inlaid with ivory will be destroyed, and the great houses will come to an end. This is the LORD’s declaration.

Amos 4

1Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan who are on the hill of Samaria, women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, who say to their husbands, “Bring us something to drink.”

2The Lord GOD has sworn by his holiness: Look, the days are coming when you will be taken away with hooks, every last one of you with fishhooks.

3You will go through breaches in the wall, each woman straight ahead, and you will be driven along toward Harmon. This is the LORD’s declaration.

4Come to Bethel and rebel; rebel even more at Gilgal! Bring your sacrifices every morning, your tenths every three days.

5Offer leavened bread as a thank offering, and loudly proclaim your freewill offerings, for that is what you Israelites love to do! This is the LORD’s declaration.

6I gave you absolutely nothing to eat in all your cities, a shortage of food in all your communities, yet you did not return to me. This is the LORD’s declaration.

7I also withheld the rain from you while there were still three months until harvest. I sent rain on one city but no rain on another. One field received rain while a field with no rain withered.

8Two or three cities staggered to another city to drink water but were not satisfied, yet you did not return to me. This is the LORD’s declaration.

9I struck you with blight and mildew; the locust devoured your many gardens and vineyards, your fig trees and olive trees, yet you did not return to me. This is the LORD’s declaration.

10I sent plagues like those of Egypt; I killed your young men with the sword, along with your captured horses. I caused the stench of your camp to fill your nostrils, yet you did not return to me. This is the LORD’s declaration.

11I overthrew some of you as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and you were like a burning stick snatched from a fire, yet you did not return to me  — This is the LORD’s declaration.

12Therefore, Israel, that is what I will do to you, and since I will do that to you, Israel, prepare to meet your God!

13He is here: the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, the one who makes the dawn out of darkness and strides on the heights of the earth. The LORD, the God of Armies, is his name.