Amos 2:5-15

5 So I will send fire upon Judah and burn down the fortresses of Jerusalem."

6 The Lord says, "The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and for this I will certainly punish them. They sell into slavery honest people who cannot pay their debts, the poor who cannot repay even the price of a pair of sandals.

7 They trample ^[a] down the weak and helpless and push the poor out of the way. A man and his father have intercourse with the same slave woman, and so profane my holy name.

8 At every place of worship people sleep on clothing that they have taken from the poor as security for debts. In the temple of their God they drink wine which they have taken from those who owe them money.

9 "And yet, my people, it was for your sake that I totally destroyed the Amorites, who were as tall as cedar trees and as strong as oaks. ¹

10 I brought you out of Egypt, led you through the desert for forty years, and gave you the land of the Amorites to be your own.

11 I chose some of your sons to be prophets and some of your young men to be nazirites. Isn't this true, people of Israel? I, the Lord, have spoken. ²

12 But you made the nazirites drink wine, and ordered the prophets not to speak my message.

13 And now I will crush you to the ground, and you will groan like a cart loaded with grain.

14 Not even fast runners will escape; strong men will lose their strength, and soldiers will not be able to save their own lives.

15 Archers will not stand their ground, fast runners will not get away, and men on horses will not escape with their lives.

Amos 2:5-15 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

• 1. 2.9Deuteronomy 3.8-11.
• 2. 2.11Numbers 6.1-8.

Footnotes

• [a]. trample; [Hebrew unclear.]
• [b]. nazirites: [Israelites who showed their devotion to God by taking vows not to drink wine or beer or cut their hair or touch corpses (see Nu 6.1-8).]