Amo 2 | HCSB | STEP | The Lord says : I will not relent from punishing Moab for three crimes , even four , because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime .

‏ Amos 2

1 The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Moab ^a
for three crimes, even four,
because he burned the bones
of the king of Edom to lime. ^b
2 Therefore, I will send fire against Moab,
and it will consume the citadels of Kerioth. ^c
Moab will die with a tumult, ^d
with shouting and the sound of the ram’s horn.
3 I will cut off the judge ^e from the land
and kill all its officials ^f with him.
The Lord has spoken.

Judgment on Judah

4 The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Judah ^g
for three crimes, even four,
because they have rejected the instruction of the Lord ^h
and have not kept His statutes. ⁱ
The lies ^j that their ancestors followed ^k
have led them astray.
5 Therefore, I will send fire ^l against Judah,
and it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.

Judgment on Israel

6 The Lord says:

I will not relent from punishing Israel ^m
for three crimes, even four,
because they sell a righteous person for silver
and a needy person for a pair of sandals. ⁿ
7 They trample the heads of the poor ^o
on the dust of the ground
and block the path of the needy. ^p
A man and his father have sexual relations
with the same girl, ^q
profaning My holy name. ^r
8 They stretch out beside every altar ^s
on garments taken as collateral, ^t
and in the house of their God,
they drink wine obtained through fines. ^u

9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite ^v as Israel advanced;
his height ^w was like the cedars,
and he was as sturdy as the oaks;
I destroyed his fruit ^x above and his roots beneath.
10 And I brought you from the land of Egypt ^y
and led you 40 years in the wilderness ^z
in order to possess the land of the Amorite. ^aa
11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets ^ab
and some of your young men as Nazirites. ^ac
Is this not the case, Israelites?

This is the Lord’s declaration.

12 But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets,
“Do not prophesy.” ^ad
13 Look, I am about to crush ^{▼▼Or hinder; Hb obscure} you in your place ^af
as a wagon full of sheaves crushes grain.
14 Escape will fail the swift, ^ag
the strong one will not prevail by his strength, ^ah
and the brave will not save his life.
15 The archer will not stand his ground, ^ai
the one who is swift of foot
will not save himself,
and the one riding a horse will not save his life. ^aj
16 Even the most courageous of the warriors
will flee naked on that day ^ak –

this is the Lord’s declaration.