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Amos Chapter 2 (JPS)

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Amos Chapter 2 (JPS)

1 Thus saith HaShem: 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.

2 So will I send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the horn;

3 And I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith HaShem.

4 Thus saith HaShem: For three transgressions of Judah, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they have rejected the law of HaShem, and have not kept His statutes, and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers did walk.

5 So will I send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

6 Thus saith HaShem: For three transgressions of Israel, yea, for four, I will not reverse it: because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes;

7 That pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the humble; and a man and his father go unto the same maid, to profane My holy name;

8 And they lay themselves down beside every altar upon clothes taken in pledge, and in the house of their G-d they drink the wine of them that have been fined.

9 Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

10 Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorites.

11 And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith HaShem.

12 But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying: 'Prophesy not.'

13 Behold, I will make it creak under you, as a cart creaketh that is full of sheaves.

14 And flight shall fail the swift, and the strong shall not exert his strength, neither shall the mighty deliver himself;

15 Neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself;

16 And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith HaShem.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which nations does Amos 2 pronounce judgment on?
The chapter continues the "for three transgressions... for four" pattern against Moab, then turns to Judah for despising the LORD's law (v.4), and finally to Israel itself for injustice against the poor (v.6).
What does verse 6 mean by selling 'the poor for a pair of shoes'?
It condemns Israel for injustice so casual that the righteous and needy are traded away for something as cheap as footwear, alongside oppressing "the meek" and profaning God's name (v.6-7).
What did God do for Israel before pronouncing this judgment?
Verses 9-11 recall that God destroyed the Amorites before them, brought them up from Egypt, and raised up prophets and Nazarites from among their own sons - yet the people told the prophets not to prophesy and gave the Nazarites wine, undoing that calling as described in Ezekiel 20:24.

Today's Verse

but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:

Daniel 2:28 | ASV

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