Amos 2:6-16

6 Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they sell the righteous for silver, And the poor for a pair of sandals.

7 They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, And pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, To defile My holy name.

8 They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, And drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god.

9 "Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; Yet I destroyed his fruit above And his roots beneath.

10 Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, And led you forty years through the wilderness, To possess the land of the Amorite.

11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets, And some of your young men as Nazirites. Is it not so, O you children of Israel?" Says the Lord.

12 "But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, And commanded the prophets saying, 'Do not prophesy!'

13 "Behold, I am weighed down by you, As a cart full of sheaves is weighed down.

14 Therefore flight shall perish from the swift, The strong shall not strengthen his power, Nor shall the mighty deliver himself;

15 He shall not stand who handles the bow, The swift of foot shall not escape, Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.

16 The most courageous men of might Shall flee naked in that day," Says the Lord.

Amos 2:6-16 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.

Footnotes

• [a] Or trample on