Amos 2:4-16

2:4 This is what the Lord says:

“Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions –

make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment.

They rejected the Lord’s law;

they did not obey his commands.

Their false gods,

to which their fathers were loyal,

led them astray.

2:5 So I will set Judah on fire,

and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.”

God Will Judge Israel

2:6 This is what the Lord says:

“Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions –

make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment.

They sold the innocent for silver,

the needy for a pair of sandals.

2:7 They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor;

they push the destitute away.

A man and his father go to the same girl;

in this way they show disrespect for my moral purity.

2:8 They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral;

they do so right beside every altar!

They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied;

they do so right in the temple of their God!

2:9 For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites.

They were as tall as cedars

and as strong as oaks,

but I destroyed the fruit on their branches

and their roots in the ground.

2:10 I brought you up from the land of Egypt;

I led you through the wilderness for forty years

so you could take the Amorites’ land as your own.

2:11 I made some of your sons prophets

and some of your young men Nazirites.

Is this not true, you Israelites?”

The Lord is speaking!

2:12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine;

you commanded the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy!’

2:13 Look! I will press you down,

like a cart loaded down with grain presses down.

2:14 Fast runners will find no place to hide;

strong men will have no strength left;

warriors will not be able to save their lives.

2:15 Archers will not hold their ground;

fast runners will not save their lives,

nor will those who ride horses.

2:16 Bravehearted warriors will run away naked in that day.”

The Lord is speaking!