AMOS

Amos 2

1God's judgments upon Moab, 4upon Judah, 6and upon Israel. 9God complaineth of Israel's ingratitude for past kindnesses, and threateneth them for it.


1THUS saith the LORD; 1For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because 2he burned the 3bones of the king of Edom into lime:

1 See Amos 1 on verse 3.

2 Moab, and especially the king of the Moabites.

3 Of this is nowhere else recorded in Holy Writ. Some would apply it to the history in 2 Kings 3:27. See the annotation there. Others hold that a certain king of the Moabites caused a king of the Edomites to be burnt to ashes, and made of it a kind of lime, wherewith he caused the walls of his palace to be covered. However, it is certainly a very extraordinary inhuman, barbarian act of the Moabites, which God would not suffer to go unpunished.

2But I will send a 4fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of 5Kerioth: and Moab shall 6die with 7tumult, with 8shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:

4 As verse 5; Amos 1:4.

5 A city of the Moabites. See Jer. 48:24.

6 That is, perish, loose all his state and power. Compare Hosea 13:1, with the annotation. Yet it may be properly understood here that the Moabites shall be put to death by the enemies.

7 Of war and hostile raid.

8 As Amos 1:14. See there.

3And I will cut off the 9judge from the midst 10thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with 11him, saith the LORD.

9 Or, governor.

10 The land of Moab, or Kerioth.

11 Moab, especially the king of the Moabites.

4¶Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their 12lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked:

12 Idols, idolatry, superstition and all adhering vanities.

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

6¶Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions 13of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the 14righteous for silver,a and the poor for a pair of shoes;

13 Of the ten tribes.

14 The godly, innocent, who has a righteous cause, is oppressed in judgment, and the poor, who has nothing to give and is in want himself, for a small gift of the rich is condemned and delivered into the power of his adversary. See Amos 8:6.

a Amos 8:6.

7That pant after the 15dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and 16turn aside the 17way of the 18meek: and a 19man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to 20profane 21my holy name:

15 That is, who do not rest before they have trampled underfoot the poor, who are nonetheless already exhausted, as in the dust of the earth, and dragging them, as it were, along the ground into the most extreme nothingness. Compare the annotation on 1 Kings 16:2; Job 16:15, etc. Likewise Amos 5:11. Or, that the poor must stand before the judgment seat with dust or earth upon their heads, as guilty ones and malefactors, doing penance, to please the rich which gave presents.

16 Or, turnabout, bend.

17 That is, the intention and the deed of those who would gladly obey God in quietness, and at its worst take and distort, prevent, hinder and torment him in all manners; likewise, if he have never so good a cause to plead in judgment, they bow and wrest it to his damage, and defeat him of his right. Some take it so as if by their power and insolence they made such a terror among the people, that the godly must turn out of the way before, and remain at a great distance from them.

18 See Psalm 10 on verse 17.

19 The son and the father.

20 To dishonor and to make despicable by most impudent lewdness.

21 Hebr. the name of my holiness, that is, My holy Name, by which they are called.

8And they 22lay themselves down upon clothes laid 23to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the 24condemned in the house of their god.

22 Hebr. bow themselves, that is, they are so shameless, that, having practiced so much baseness and malice on the poor and needy, they still dare to appear in the temples of their idols to show off their unrighteous gain, and to feast thereof in their idolatrous festivals, aggravating thus their violence by their idolatry, and their idolatry by their violence.

23 Which are pawned to them; which they have taken as a pledge. See Exod. 22:26.

24 That is, which they bought with the fines of those, whom they wrongfully condemned.

9¶Yet destroyed I the 25Amoriteb before them, 26whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his 27fruit from above, and his roots from beneath.

25 That is, the heathen nations of the Canaanites, called thus sometimes after the most prominent nation, namely, the Amorites.

b Num. 21:24; Deut. 2:31; Joshua 24:8.

26 Figurative phrases. See Num. 13:28, 32, 33.

27 Expressions implying the uttermost destruction. See Hosea 9 on verse 16.

10Also I brought you up from the landc of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.

c Exod. 12:51.

11And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for 28Nazarites. 29Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD.

28 See Num. 6 on verse 2.

29 As if God said: Really, this is true, and ye cannot deny it yourselves.

12But ye gave the Nazarites 30wine to drink; and commandedd31the prophets, saying, 32Prophesy not.

30 Contrary to God’s express command, Num. 6:3, to provoke Him, and to make a mock of all godliness.

d Amos 7:12, 13.

31 Hebr. commanded to, upon or against the prophets, that is, forbidden them; as the word to command is sometimes taken. See Gen. 2:16; Lev. 4:2; Deut. 2:37; 4:23, with the annotations.

32 Compare Isa. 30:10; Jer. 11:21; Amos 7:13.

13Behold, I am 33pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.

33 That is, I will so press and distress the land with its inhabitants through My punishing hand by the enemy, as a full laden wagon does press and crush with corn, that or him, the wagon is made to pass over. Compare Amos 6:14.

1434Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not 35strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver 36himself:

34 Hebr. and the refuge shall perish or be lost from the swift or light one (namely, him who is light and nimble on his feet, as in the next verse).

35He shall not be able to make use of his strength, or, though he endeavored it, it shall be in vain.

36 Or, his soul. That is, life. See Gen. on verse 17. Likewise in the next verse.

15Neither shall he 37stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.

37 Or, keep his standing, who otherwise used to be a strong and brave soldier.

16And he that is 38courageous among the mighty shall flee away 39naked in that day, saith the LORD.

38 Hebr. the strong of his heart, or, who is strong with his heart. Compare Psalm 76:5.

39 Throwing away both armor and clothes, to make the escape quicker.