Amos 2:6-16

Judgment on Israel

6 Thus says the LORD: ¹"For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because ²they sell the righteous for ³silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals--

7 those who trample the head of the poor ⁴into the dust of the earth and ⁵turn aside the way of the afflicted; ⁶a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned;

8 they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments ⁷taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.

9 "Yet ⁸it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, ⁹whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; ¹⁰I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath.

10 ¹¹Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt ¹²and led you forty years in the wilderness, ¹³to possess the land of the Amorite.

11 And I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for ¹⁴Nazirites. Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?" declares the LORD.

12 "But you made the Nazirites ¹⁵drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, ¹⁶'You shall not prophesy.'

13 "Behold, I will press you down in your place, as a cart full of sheaves presses down.

14 ¹⁷Flight shall perish from the swift, ¹⁸and the strong shall not retain his strength, ¹⁹nor shall the mighty save his life;

15 he who handles the bow shall not stand, and he who is ²⁰swift of foot shall not save himself, ²¹nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;

16 and he who is stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day," declares the LORD.

Amos 2:6-16 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO AMOS 2

In this chapter the prophet foretells the calamities that should come upon the Moabites for their transgressions, Am 2:1-3; and the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem for their iniquities, Am 2:4,5; also the judgments of God that should come upon Israel the ten tribes for their sins, which sins are enumerated; their oppression of the poor, their lewdness and idolatry, Am 2:6-8; and which are aggravated by the blessings of goodness bestowed upon them, both temporal and spiritual, Am 2:9-12; wherefore they are threatened with ruin, which would be inevitable, notwithstanding their swiftness, strength, and courage, and their skill in shooting arrows, and riding horses, Am 2:13-16.

Cross References

• 1. [See ver. 4 above]
• 2. [Leviticus 25:39; 2 Kings 4:1]
• 3. Amos 8:6
• 4. Lamentations 2:10
• 5. Amos 5:12; Job 24:4; Isaiah 10:2
• 6. [1 Corinthians 5:1]; See Ezekiel 22:11
• 7. See Exodus 22:26
• 8. Deuteronomy 2:31; Joshua 24:8; See Numbers 21:21-25
• 9. [Numbers 13:32, 33; Isaiah 10:33]
• 10. [Job 18:16]
• 11. Amos 3:1; Exodus 12:17, 51
• 12. See Deuteronomy 8:2
• 13. [See ver. 9 above]
• 14. Numbers 6:2
• 15. [Numbers 6:3]
• 16. Amos 7:13, 16; Isaiah 30:10; Micah 2:6
• 17. [Amos 9:1; Ecclesiastes 9:11]
• 18. [Amos 9:1; Ecclesiastes 9:11]
• 19. [Psalms 33:16]
• 20. [2 Samuel 2:18]
• 21. [Psalms 33:17]