Amos 2

1 The Lord God saith these things, On three great trespasses of Moab, and on four, I shall not convert it, for it burnt the bones of the king of Idumea till to ashes. (The Lord God saith these things, For the three great trespasses of Moab, and for the fourth, I shall not turn away their punishment, for they burned the bones of the king of Edom unto ashes.)

2 And I shall send fire into Moab, and it shall devour the houses of Kerioth; and Moab shall die in sound, in the noise of a trump (and Moab shall die amid the sound of trumpets).

3 And I shall lose a judge of the midst thereof, and I shall slay with it all the princes thereof, saith the Lord. (And I shall destroy their judge, or their ruler, in their midst, and I shall kill all their leaders along with him, saith the Lord.)

4 The Lord saith these things, On three great trespasses of Judah, and on four, I shall not convert him, for he hath cast away the law of the Lord, and kept not the commandments of him; for their idols, after which the fathers of them went, deceived them. (The Lord saith these things, For the three great trespasses of Judah, and for the fourth, I shall not turn away their punishment, for they have thrown away the Law of the Lord, and they did not obey his commandments; for they were deceived by the same idols, which their forefathers served.)

5 And I shall send fire into Judah, and it shall devour the houses of Jerusalem.

6 The Lord saith these things, On three great trespasses of Israel, and on four, I shall not convert him, for that that he sold a just man for silver, and a poor man for shoes. (The Lord saith these things, For the three great trespasses of Israel, and for the fourth, I shall not turn away their punishment, because they sold the righteous, or the innocent, into slavery for some silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes.)

7 Which all-foul the heads of poor men on the dust of [the] earth, and bow away the way of meek men; and the son and his father went to a damsel, that they should defoul mine holy name. (Who push down the heads of the poor into the dust of the earth, and push the meek out of their way; and the son and his father went after the same young woman, and in doing so, they defile my holy name.)

8 And they ate on clothes laid to wed beside each altar, and drank the wine of condemned men in the house of their God. (And they lie down beside each altar, on clothes taken as a pledge from the poor, and drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their gods.)

9 Forsooth I destroyed Amorite from the face of them, whose highness was the highness of cedars, and he was strong as an oak; and I all-brake the fruit of him above, and the roots of him beneath. (And I destroyed the Amorites before them, who were as tall as cedars, and were as strong as oaks; and I altogether broke their fruit above, and their roots below.)

10 I am, that made you to go up from the land of Egypt, and led you out in desert by forty years, that ye should wield the land of (the) Amorite. (I am he, who brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you through the wilderness for forty years, so that ye could possess the land of the Amorites.)

11 And I raised of your sons into prophets, and (into) Nazarites of your young men. Whether it is not so, ye sons of Israel? saith the Lord. (And I raised up prophets from among your sons, and Nazarites from out of your young men. Is that not so, ye Israelites? saith the Lord.)

12 And ye poured out wine to (the) Nazarites, and commanded to (the) prophets, and said, Prophesy ye not.

13 Lo! I shall creak under you, as a wain charged with hay creaketh. (Lo! I shall creak under you, like a wagon, loaded with hay, creaketh.)

14 And flight shall perish from a swift man, and a strong man shall not hold his strength, and a stalworthy man shall not save his life; (And the swift shall not be able to escape, and a strong man shall not be able to hold onto his own strength, and a stalwart man, or a warrior, shall not be able to save his own life;)

15 and he that holdeth a bow shall not stand, and a swift man shall not be saved by his feet; and the rider of an horse shall not save his life, (and he who holdeth a bow shall not stand, and the swift shall not be saved by their own feet; and the rider of an horse shall not be able to save his own life,)

16 and a strong man of heart shall flee naked among strong men in that day, saith the Lord. (and even the most strong-hearted of the strong shall flee away naked on that day, saith the Lord.)

Amos 2 Commentary

Chapter 2

Judgments against Moab and Judah. (1-8) The ingratitude and ruin of Israel. (9-16)

Verses 1-8 The evil passions of the heart break out in various forms; but the Lord looks to our motives, as well as our conduct. Those that deal cruelly, shall be cruelly dealt with. Other nations were reckoned with for injuries done to men; Judah is reckoned with for dishonour done to God. Judah despised the law of the Lord; and he justly gave them up to strong delusion; nor was it any excuse for their sin, that they were the lies, the idols, after which their fathers walked. The worst abominations and most grievous oppressions have been committed by some of the professed worshippers of the Lord. Such conduct leads many to unbelief and vile idolatry.

Verses 9-16 We need often to be reminded of the mercies we have received; which add much to the evil of the sins we have committed. They had helps for their souls, which taught them how to make good use of their earthly enjoyments, and were therefore more valuable. Faithful ministers are great blessings to any people; but it is God that raises them up to be so. Sinners' own consciences will witness that he has not been wanting to them in the means of grace. They did what they could to lead believers aside. Satan and his agents are busy to corrupt the minds of young people who look heavenward; they overcome many by drawing them to the love of mirth and pleasure, and into drinking company. Multitudes of young men who bade fair as professors of religion, have erred through strong drink, and have been undone for ever. The Lord complains of sin, especially the sins of his professing people, as a burden to him. And though his long-suffering be tired, his power is not, and so the sinner will find to his cost. When men reject God's word, adding obstinacy to sin, and this becomes the general character of a people, they will be given up to misery, notwithstanding all their boasted power and resources. May we then humble ourselves before the Lord, for all our ingratitude and unfaithfulness.

Chapter Summary

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.