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Amos 2

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Judgment on Moab 1–3

1
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Moab, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime. ​
2
But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet; ​
3
and I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith Jehovah. ​

Judgment on Judah 4–5

4
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have rejected the law of Jehovah, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers did walk. ​
5
But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.

Judgment on Israel for Oppression 6–8

6
Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes— ​
7
they that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father go unto the same maiden, to profane my holy name: ​
8
and they lay themselves down beside every altar upon clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of such as have been fined. ​

God's Past Grace and Israel's Rebellion 9–12

9
Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks; yet I destroyed his fruit from above, and his roots from beneath. ​
10
Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt, and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
11
And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith Jehovah. ​
12
But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. ​

Inevitable Punishment Declared 13–16

13
Behold, I will press you in your place, as a cart presseth that is full of sheaves. ​
14
And flight shall perish from the swift; and the strong shall not strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself; ​
15
neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself;
16
and he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith Jehovah. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Amos 2

Verse 1

burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime — The LORD answers for the bones of a king of Edom. 'Burned' is saraph and 'lime' is sid, plaster. The sentence in v.2 is fire, the same element Moab used on the bones.

Verse 2

a fire upon Moab — Fire is sent on each of the seven nations in 1:4–2:5 (1:4, 7, 10, 12, 14; 2:2, 5), and on the 'palaces' of each. Kerioth is named with Bozrah among Moab's cities in Jer 48:24. 'Tumult' (sha'on), 'shouting' (teruah) and 'trumpet' (shofar) are the sounds of an attack, and Moab 'shall die' in them.

Verse 3

cut off the judge — 'Judge' (shofet) is the ruler of Moab, struck down with 'all the princes' (sar). 'Cut off' (karat) is the verb of the sentences on Damascus and Ashdod (1:5, 8). Balaam had said that a Sceptre out of Israel 'shall smite the corners of Moab' (Num 24:17).

Verse 4

despised the law of the LORD — Judah's charge is the law of the LORD itself. 'Despised' is ma'as, 'kept' is shamar, and 'commandments' is choq, statutes, as in 'had despised my statutes' (Ezek 20:24). 'Their lies' (kazab) is the word of Hos 12:1, 'he daily increaseth lies', and the walk after their fathers matches 'their eyes were after their fathers' idols' (Ezek 20:24).

Verse 6

sold the righteous for silver — Israel's charge begins with people sold. 'The righteous' (tsaddiq) and 'the poor' (ebyon) are sold for silver and for 'a pair of shoes'. The same price returns in 8:6, 'buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes', and the same people in 5:12, 'they afflict the just'.

Verse 7

to profane my holy name — 'Turn aside the way of the meek' uses the verb of Isa 10:2, 'To turn aside the needy from judgment' (natah). A man and his father going in to 'the same maid' (na'arah, a young woman) is named as profaning 'my holy name', the thing forbidden in Lev 22:32, 'Neither shall ye profane my holy name'.

Verse 8

clothes laid to pledge — The law required a neighbour's raiment taken in pledge to be returned 'by that the sun goeth down', since 'that is his covering only' (Ex 22:26–27; Deut 24:12–13). Here such clothes are spread beside 'every altar'. 'The wine of the condemned' uses anash, to fine, as in Deut 22:19, so it is wine from fines, drunk 'in the house of their god'.

Verse 9

the Amorite — 'Destroyed' is shamad, the verb of Josh 24:8, 'I destroyed them from before you', said of the Amorites. Their height fits Og king of Bashan, 'of the remnant of giants', whose bedstead was nine cubits long (Deut 3:11), one of 'the two kings of the Amorites' (Deut 3:8). Fruit above and roots beneath is a tree taken up entirely (Job 18:16).

Verse 11

raised up of your sons for prophets — 'Raised up' (qum) is the verb of the promise 'I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren' (Deut 18:18). Nazarites are the 'separated' (nazir) of Num 6, who 'shall separate himself from wine and strong drink' (Num 6:3). The question 'Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel?' asks Israel to confirm it.

Verse 12

gave the Nazarites wine to drink — Wine was the first thing the Nazarite had to avoid (Num 6:3), and here it is put into his hand. 'Prophesy not' is the command Amaziah gives Amos at Bethel, 'prophesy not again any more at Bethel' (7:13), and the one given to the prophets in Isa 30:10, 'Prophesy not unto us right things'.

Verse 13

I am pressed under you — The verb 'uq occurs twice in the verse, of the LORD and of the loaded cart. On the KJV reading their sin is a weight to him, as in 'I am weary to bear them' (Isa 1:14) and 'Ye have wearied the LORD with your words' (Mal 2:17). Some read that the LORD presses them down as a loaded cart presses.

Verse 14

the flight shall perish from the swift — 'Flight' (manos) is escape by running, and it fails the swift, the strong and the mighty alike. 'Deliver himself' is malat with nephesh, to save his own life. 'There is no king saved by the multitude of an host: a mighty man is not delivered by much strength' (Ps 33:16).

Verse 16

flee away naked — The list of those who cannot escape (vv.14–16) ends with 'he that is courageous', literally 'strong of heart' (ammits lebo), who is among 'the mighty' (gibborim). The swift, the strong, the archer, the swift of foot and the horseman come before him. 'Naked' is arom, stripped of clothing.