Amos 2:4-14

4 Thus says the LORD, "For three transgressions of 1Judah and for four I will not revoke its punishment, Because they 2rejected the law of the LORD And have not kept His statutes; Their 3lies also have led them astray, Those after which their 4fathers walked.
5 "So I will 5send fire upon Judah And it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem."
6 Thus says the LORD, "For three transgressions of 6Israel and for four I will not revoke its punishment, Because they 7sell the righteous for money And the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 "These who pant after the very dust of the earth on the head of the 8helpless Also 9turn aside the way of the humble; And a 10man and his father resort to the same girl In order to profane My holy name.
8 "On garments 11taken as pledges they stretch out beside 12every altar, And in the house of their God they 13drink the wine of those who have been fined.
9 "Yet it was I who destroyed the 14Amorite before * them, Though his 15height was like the height of cedars And he was strong as the oaks; I even destroyed his 16fruit above * and his root below *.
10 "It was I who 17brought you up from the land of Egypt, And I led you in the wilderness 18forty years That you might take possession of the land of the 19Amorite.
11 "Then I 20raised up some of your sons to be prophets And some of your young men to be 21Nazirites. Is this not so, O sons of Israel?" declares the LORD.
12 "But you made the Nazirites drink wine, And you commanded the prophets saying, 'You 22shall not prophesy!'
13 "Behold, I am 23weighted down beneath you As a wagon is weighted down when filled with sheaves.
14 "24Flight will perish from the swift, And the stalwart will not strengthen his power, Nor the 25mighty man save his life.

Amos 2:4-14 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 2

In this chapter the prophet foretells the calamities that should come upon the Moabites for their transgressions, Am 2:1-3; and the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem for their iniquities, Am 2:4,5; also the judgments of God that should come upon Israel the ten tribes for their sins, which sins are enumerated; their oppression of the poor, their lewdness and idolatry, Am 2:6-8; and which are aggravated by the blessings of goodness bestowed upon them, both temporal and spiritual, Am 2:9-12; wherefore they are threatened with ruin, which would be inevitable, notwithstanding their swiftness, strength, and courage, and their skill in shooting arrows, and riding horses, Am 2:13-16.

Cross References 25

  • 1. 2 Kings 17:19; Hosea 12:2; Amos 3:2
  • 2. Judges 2:17-20; 2 Kings 22:11-17; Jeremiah 6:19; Jeremiah 8:9
  • 3. Isaiah 9:15, 16; Isaiah 28:15; Jeremiah 16:19; Habakkuk 2:18
  • 4. Jeremiah 9:14; Jeremiah 16:11, 12; Ezek 20:18, 24, 30
  • 5. Jeremiah 17:27; Jeremiah 21:10; Hosea 8:14
  • 6. 2 Kings 18:11, 12
  • 7. Joel 3:3; Amos 5:11, 12; Amos 8:6
  • 8. Amos 8:4; Micah 2:2, 9
  • 9. Amos 5:12
  • 10. Hosea 4:14
  • 11. Exodus 22:26
  • 12. Amos 3:14
  • 13. Amos 4:1; Amos 6:6
  • 14. Numbers 21:23-25; Joshua 10:12
  • 15. Numbers 13:32
  • 16. Ezekiel 17:9; Malachi 4:1
  • 17. Exodus 12:51; Exodus 20:2; Amos 3:1; Amos 9:7
  • 18. Deuteronomy 2:7
  • 19. Exodus 3:8
  • 20. Deuteronomy 18:18; Jeremiah 7:25
  • 21. Numbers 6:2, 3; Judges 13:5
  • 22. Isaiah 30:10; Jeremiah 11:21; Amos 7:13, 16; Micah 2:6
  • 23. Isaiah 1:14
  • 24. Isaiah 30:16, 17
  • 25. Psalms 33:16; Jeremiah 9:23

Footnotes 10

New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, California.  All rights reserved.