Amos 1 - Contemporary English Version (CEV)

1 (A) I am Amos. And I raised sheep near the town of Tekoa[a] when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam[b] son of Jehoash[c] was king of Israel.

Two years before the earthquake,[d] the Lord gave me several messages[e] about Israel, 2 (B) and I said:

When the Lord roars
from Jerusalem,
pasturelands and Mount Carmel
dry up and turn brown.

Judgment on Syria

3 (C) The Lord said:

I will punish Syria[f]
for countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They dragged logs with spikes[g]
over the people of Gilead.
4 Now I will burn down the palaces
and fortresses of King Hazael
and of King Benhadad.[h]
5 I will break through
the gates of Damascus.
I will destroy the people[i]
of Wicked Valley[j]
and the ruler of Beth-Eden.[k]
Then the Syrians will be dragged
as prisoners to Kir.[l]
I, the Lord, have spoken!

Judgment on Philistia

6 (D) The Lord said:

I will punish Philistia[m]
for countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They dragged off my people[n]
from town after town
to sell them as slaves
to the Edomites.

7 That's why I will burn down
the walls and fortresses
of the city of Gaza.
8 I will destroy the king[o] of Ashdod
and the ruler of Ashkelon.
I will strike down Ekron,[p]
and that will be the end
of the Philistines.
I, the Lord, have spoken!

Judgment on Phoenicia

9 (E) The Lord said:

I will punish Phoenicia[q]
for countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They broke their treaty
and dragged off my people[r]
from town after town
to sell them as slaves
to the Edomites.
10 That's why I will send flames
to burn down the city of Tyre
along with its fortresses.

Judgment on Edom

11 (F) The Lord said:

I will punish Edom
for countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
They killed their own relatives[s]
and were so terribly furious
that they showed no mercy.
12 Now I will send fire to wipe out
the fortresses of Teman
and Bozrah.[t]

Judgment on Ammon

13 (G) The Lord said:

I will punish Ammon
for countless crimes,
and I won't change my mind.
In Gilead they ripped open
pregnant women,
just to take the land.

14 Now I will send fire to destroy
the walls and fortresses
of Rabbah.[u]
Enemies will shout and attack
like a whirlwind.
15 Ammon's king and leaders
will be dragged away.
I, the Lord, have spoken!

Footnotes

  1. 1.1 Tekoa: In the hill country of Judah about eight kilometers south of Bethlehem.
  2. 1.1 Uzziah … Jeroboam: Uzziah was king of Judah 781–740 b.c., and Jeroboam II was king of Israel 783–743 b.c.
  3. 1.1 Jehoash: The Hebrew text has “Joash,” another spelling of the name.
  4. 1.1 Two years … earthquake: Possibly the earthquake of 760 b.c., which seems to have been especially violent.
  5. 1.1 messages: Or “visions.”
  6. 1.3 Syria: The Hebrew text has “Damascus,” the leading city of Syria.
  7. 1.3 logs with spikes: These were dragged over grain to thresh it.
  8. 1.4 Hazael … Benhadad: Two Syrian kings.
  9. 1.5 people: Or “king.”
  10. 1.5 Wicked Valley: The Hebrew text has “Aven Valley,” probably the fertile valley between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountains.
  11. 1.5 I will … Beth-Eden: Or “I will destroy the people of Wicked Valley and the king who rules from Beth-Eden.” Beth-Eden was a city-state on the banks of the Euphrates River.
  12. 1.5 Kir: The exact location of this country is not known; in 9.7 Amos refers to Kir as the original home of the Syrians, and so the verse probably means that the Syrians will lose everything they have gained as a people.
  13. 1.6 Philistia: The Hebrew text has “Gaza,” one of the main Philistine cities.
  14. 1.6 my people: The people of Israel.
  15. 1.8 king: Or “people.”
  16. 1.8 Ashdod … Ashkelon … Ekron: Philistine cities.
  17. 1.9 Phoenicia: The Hebrew text has “Tyre,” which was one of the two Phoenician cities; the other was Sidon, which is not mentioned by Amos.
  18. 1.9 my people: See the note at 1.6.
  19. 1.11 their own relatives: The Edomites were descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob, the ancestor of the Israelites.
  20. 1.12 Teman and Bozrah: These stand for all of Edom; Teman may have been a city or a district. Bozrah, the chief city of northern Edom, was 48 kilometers southeast of the Dead Sea.
  21. 1.14 Rabbah: The capital city of Ammon.

Cross references

  1. 1.1 a : 2 K 15.1-7; 2 Ch 26.1-23; b 2 K 14.23-29.
  2. 1.2 : Jl 3.16.
  3. 1.3-5 : Is 17.1-3; Jr 49.23-27; Zec 9.1.
  4. 1.6-8 : Is 14.29-31; Jr 47.1-7; Ez 25.15-17; Jl 3.4-8; Zep 2.4-7; Zec 9.5-7.
  5. 1.9,10 : Is 23.1-18; Ez 26.1—28.19; Jl 3.4-8; Zec 9.1-4; Mt 11.21,22; Lk 10.13,14.
  6. 1.11,12 : Is 34.5-17; 63.1-6; Jr 49.7-22; Ez 25.12-14; 35.1-15; Ob 1-14; Ml 1.2-5.
  7. 1.13-15 : Jr 49.1-6; Ez 21.28-32; 25.1-7; Zep 2.8-11.

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