Amos 2

This is what God says, “The people of Moab have sinned again and again, so I will certainly punish them and will not change my mind about it, because they burned the bones of the king of Edom until only lime remained. \* 2 So I will send a fire to {destroy} {the nation of} Moab, and it will burn down the fortresses of {the city of} Kerioth. Many people of Moab will die while soldiers shout, blow the ram’s horn, and destroy Moab. 3 I will get rid of the ruler of Moab, and I will kill all of Moab’s leaders along with him. That is what I, God, say.” \*

This is what God says, “The people of Judah have sinned again and again, so I will certainly punish them and will not change my mind about it, because they have rejected the instructions that I, God, gave them, and they have not obeyed my commands. The false gods that they worship have deceived them, the same false gods that their ancestors chose to worship. 5 So I will send a fire to {destroy} {the nation of} Judah, and it will completely burn down the fortresses of {the city of} Jerusalem.” \*

This is what God says, “The people of Israel have sinned again and again, so I will certainly punish them and will not change my mind about it, because they sell good people in order to get silver, and {they sell} needy people to get a pair of sandals. \* 7 They oppress poor people as though they are crushing them into the dirt, and they are unjust to people who are suffering. A man and his father both have sexual relations with the same {servant} girl, and so they dishonor me, the holy God. 8 They take the cloaks from poor people {as a guarantee that those people would repay what they had borrowed}. Then{, instead of returning them at the end of the day,} they lie down on them beside the altars {where they worship}. They force people to pay fines to them, and then {use the money to} buy wine that they drink in the temple of their God. \* 9 But I am the one who destroyed the Amorite people group on behalf of your ancestors, even though those people were very tall like cedar trees and very strong like oak trees. I destroyed them completely. 10 I am the one who brought you Israelite people from {being slaves in} the land of Egypt, and then I led your ancestors through the wilderness for forty years, so that I could give you the land of the Amorite people as your own. \* 11 {Over the years,} I chose some of your young men to become prophets, and others to be Nazirites. You Israelite people certainly know that this is true! This is what I, God, declare. 12 But you forced the Nazirites to drink wine, and you commanded the prophets to not tell people the messages that I, God, give to them! \* 13 So now I will make you unable to escape what will happen to you right where you are, just as a cart loaded with too much grain cannot move from where it is. 14 {At that time,} {even} people who can run quickly will not be able to escape, and {even} strong people will not be strong enough, and {even} warriors will not be able to rescue themselves. \* 15 {Even} those who shoot arrows will not be able to stand {and do so}, and {even} those who can run quickly will not be able to escape, and {even} those who have a horse to ride will not be able to save themselves. 16 At that time, {even} the bravest of the mighty men will run away naked. This is what I, God, declare.” \*