Amos 2

1Thus 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.

1The LORD says: Because Moab has committed three crimes, and even four, I will not hold back their punishment; they burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime.

2But 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;

2So I will send a fire on Moab that will destroy the fortresses of Kerioth. Moab will die in the middle of a great noise, with battle cries and the sound of trumpets.

3and I will cut off the judge from the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith Jehovah.

3I will remove their ruler from among them and kill all their officials with him, says the LORD.

4Thus 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.

4The LORD says: Because Judah has committed three crimes, and even four, I will not hold back their punishment. They have rejected the law of the LORD and have not kept his rules. They have been led astray by the same false gods their ancestors followed.

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

5So I will send a fire on Judah, and it will burn up the palaces of Jerusalem.

6Thus 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—

6The LORD says: Because Israel has committed three crimes, and even four, I will not hold back their punishment. They sell honest people for money and the poor for the price of a pair of sandals.

7they 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:

7They stomp the heads of the poor into the dust of the earth and push the humble out of the way. A man and his father go to the same woman, which treats my holy name as something common and dirty.

8and 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.

8They lie down beside every altar on clothes taken from the poor as security for debts. In the house of their God, they drink wine bought with the money they charged as fines.

9Yet 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.

9Yet I was the one who destroyed the Amorites before them, even though they were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks. I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below.

10Also 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.

10I was the one who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and led you through the desert for forty years to take over the land of the Amorites.

11And 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.

11I chose some of your sons to be prophets and some of your young men to be Nazirites. Isn’t this true, people of Israel? asks the LORD.

12But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.

12But you made the Nazirites drink wine and ordered the prophets not to give my message.

13Behold, I will press you in your place, as a cart presseth that is full of sheaves.

13Look, I will crush you into the ground just as a wagon loaded with grain crushes everything under it.

14And flight shall perish from the swift; and the strong shall not strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself;

14The fast runner will not be able to escape, the strong man will lose his strength, and the brave soldier will not save his own life.

15neither 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;

15The archer will not stand his ground, the fast runner will not get away, and the rider on a horse will not save himself.

16and he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith Jehovah.

16On that day, even the bravest soldiers will drop their weapons and run away naked, says the LORD.