Judgment on Judah and Israel

1 Thus says the LORD,
“For three transgressions of Moab and for four
I will not revoke its {punishment,}
Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.2
“So I will send fire upon Moab
And it will consume the citadels of Kerioth;
And Moab will die amid tumult,
With war cries and the sound of a trumpet.3
“I will also cut off the judge from her midst
And slay all her princes with him, says the LORD.

4
Thus says the LORD,
“For three transgressions of Judah and for four
I will not revoke its {punishment,}
Because they rejected the law of the LORD
And have not kept His statutes;
Their lies also have led them astray,
Those after which their fathers walked.5
“So I will send fire upon Judah
And it will consume the citadels of Jerusalem.

6
Thus says the LORD,
“For three transgressions of Israel and for four
I will not revoke its {punishment,}
Because they sell the righteous for money
And the needy for a pair of sandals.7
“These who pant after the {very} dust of the earth on the head of the helpless
Also turn aside the way of the humble;
And a man and his father resort to the same girl
In order to profane My holy name.8
“On garments taken as pledges they stretch out beside every altar,
And in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.

9
“Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
Though his height {was} like the height of cedars
And he {was} strong as the oaks;
I even destroyed his fruit above and his root below.10
“It was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt,
And I led you in the wilderness forty years
That you might take possession of the land of the Amorite.11
“Then I raised up some of your sons to be prophets
And some of your young men to be Nazirites.
Is this not so, O sons of Israel? declares the LORD.12
“But you made the Nazirites drink wine,
And you commanded the prophets saying, `You shall not prophesy!’13
“Behold, I am weighted down beneath you
As a wagon is weighted down when filled with sheaves.14
“Flight will perish from the swift,
And the stalwart will not strengthen his power,
Nor the mighty man save his life.15
“He who grasps the bow will not stand {his ground,}
The swift of foot will not escape,
Nor will he who rides the horse save his life.16
“Even the bravest among the warriors will flee naked in that day, declares the LORD.

Judgment on Neighbor Nations

1 The words of Amos, who was among the sheepherders from Tekoa, which he envisioned in visions concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.2
He said,
“The LORD roars from Zion
And from Jerusalem He utters His voice;
And the shepherds’ pasture grounds mourn,
And the summit of Carmel dries up.

3
Thus says the LORD,
“For three transgressions of Damascus and for four
I will not revoke its {punishment,}
Because they threshed Gilead with {implements} of sharp iron.4
“So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael
And it will consume the citadels of Ben-hadad.5
“I will also break the {gate} bar of Damascus,
And cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Aven,
And him who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden;
So the people of Aram will go exiled to Kir,
Says the LORD.

6
Thus says the LORD,
“For three transgressions of Gaza and for four
I will not revoke its {punishment,}
Because they deported an entire population
To deliver {it} up to Edom.7
“So I will send fire upon the wall of Gaza
And it will consume her citadels.8
“I will also cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod,
And him who holds the scepter, from Ashkelon;
I will even unleash My power upon Ekron,
And the remnant of the Philistines will perish,
Says the Lord GOD.

9
Thus says the LORD,
“For three transgressions of Tyre and for four
I will not revoke its {punishment,}
Because they delivered up an entire population to Edom
And did not remember {the} covenant of brotherhood.10
“So I will send fire upon the wall of Tyre
And it will consume her citadels.

11
Thus says the LORD,
“For three transgressions of Edom and for four
I will not revoke its {punishment,}
Because he pursued his brother with the sword,
While he stifled his compassion;
His anger also tore continually,
And he maintained his fury forever.12
“So I will send fire upon Teman
And it will consume the citadels of Bozrah.

13
Thus says the LORD,
“For three transgressions of the sons of Ammon and for four
I will not revoke its {punishment,}
Because they ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead
In order to enlarge their borders.14
“So I will kindle a fire on the wall of Rabbah
And it will consume her citadels
Amid war cries on the day of battle,
And a storm on the day of tempest.15
“Their king will go into exile,
He and his princes together, says the LORD.

The Nations Will Be Judged

1
“For behold, in those days and at that time,
When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,2
I will gather all the nations
And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.
Then I will enter into judgment with them there
On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
And they have divided up My land.3
“They have also cast lots for My people,
Traded a boy for a harlot
And sold a girl for wine that they may drink.<PE>4 “Moreover, what are you to Me, O Tyre, Sidon and all the regions of Philistia? Are you rendering Me a recompense? But if you do recompense Me, swiftly and speedily I will return your recompense on your head.5 “Since you have taken My silver and My gold, brought My precious treasures to your temples,6 and sold the sons of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks in order to remove them far from their territory,7 behold, I am going to arouse them from the place where you have sold them, and return your recompense on your head.8 “Also I will sell your sons and your daughters into the hand of the sons of Judah, and they will sell them to the Sabeans, to a distant nation, for the LORD has spoken.

9
Proclaim this among the nations:
Prepare a war; rouse the mighty men!
Let all the soldiers draw near, let them come up!10
Beat your plowshares into swords
And your pruning hooks into spears;
Let the weak say, “I am a mighty man.11
Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations,
And gather yourselves there.
Bring down, O LORD, Your mighty ones.12
Let the nations be aroused
And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat,
For there I will sit to judge
All the surrounding nations.13
Put in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe.
Come, tread, for the wine press is full;
The vats overflow, for their wickedness is great.14
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision!
For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.15
The sun and moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.16
The LORD roars from Zion
And utters His voice from Jerusalem,
And the heavens and the earth tremble.
But the LORD is a refuge for His people
And a stronghold to the sons of Israel.17
Then you will know that I am the LORD your God,
Dwelling in Zion, My holy mountain.
So Jerusalem will be holy,
And strangers will pass through it no more.

Judah Will Be Blessed 18
And in that day
The mountains will drip with sweet wine,
And the hills will flow with milk,
And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water;
And a spring will go out from the house of the LORD
To water the valley of Shittim.19
Egypt will become a waste,
And Edom will become a desolate wilderness,
Because of the violence done to the sons of Judah,
In whose land they have shed innocent blood.20
But Judah will be inhabited forever
And Jerusalem for all generations.21
And I will avenge their blood which I have not avenged,
For the LORD dwells in Zion.<PE>

The Terrible Visitation

1
Blow a trumpet in Zion,
And sound an alarm on My holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
For the day of the LORD is coming;
Surely it is near,2
A day of darkness and gloom,
A day of clouds and thick darkness.
As the dawn is spread over the mountains,
{So} there is a great and mighty people;
There has never been {anything} like it,
Nor will there be again after it
To the years of many generations.3
A fire consumes before them
And behind them a flame burns.
The land is like the garden of Eden before them
But a desolate wilderness behind them,
And nothing at all escapes them.4
Their appearance is like the appearance of horses;
And like war horses, so they run.5
With a noise as of chariots
They leap on the tops of the mountains,
Like the crackling of a flame of fire consuming the stubble,
Like a mighty people arranged for battle.6
Before them the people are in anguish;
All faces turn pale.7
They run like mighty men,
They climb the wall like soldiers;
And they each march in line,
Nor do they deviate from their paths.8
They do not crowd each other,
They march everyone in his path;
When they burst through the defenses,
They do not break ranks.9
They rush on the city,
They run on the wall;
They climb into the houses,
They enter through the windows like a thief.10
Before them the earth quakes,
The heavens tremble,
The sun and the moon grow dark
And the stars lose their brightness.11
The LORD utters His voice before His army;
Surely His camp is very great,
For strong is he who carries out His word.
The day of the LORD is indeed great and very awesome,
And who can endure it?12
“Yet even now, declares the LORD,
“Return to Me with all your heart,
And with fasting, weeping and mourning;13
And rend your heart and not your garments.
Now return to the LORD your God,
For He is gracious and compassionate,
Slow to anger, abounding in lovingkindness
And relenting of evil.14
Who knows whether He will {not} turn and relent
And leave a blessing behind Him,
{Even} a grain offering and a drink offering
For the LORD your God?15
Blow a trumpet in Zion,
Consecrate a fast, proclaim a solemn assembly,16
Gather the people, sanctify the congregation,
Assemble the elders,
Gather the children and the nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom come out of his room
And the bride out of her {bridal} chamber.17
Let the priests, the LORD’S ministers,
Weep between the porch and the altar,
And let them say, “Spare Your people, O LORD,
And do not make Your inheritance a reproach,
A byword among the nations.
Why should they among the peoples say,
`Where is their God?’

Deliverance Promised

18
Then the LORD will be zealous for His land
And will have pity on His people.19
The LORD will answer and say to His people,
“Behold, I am going to send you grain, new wine and oil,
And you will be satisfied {in full} with them;
And I will never again make you a reproach among the nations.20
“But I will remove the northern {army} far from you,
And I will drive it into a parched and desolate land,
And its vanguard into the eastern sea,
And its rear guard into the western sea.
And its stench will arise and its foul smell will come up,
For it has done great things.

21
Do not fear, O land, rejoice and be glad,
For the LORD has done great things.22
Do not fear, beasts of the field,
For the pastures of the wilderness have turned green,
For the tree has borne its fruit,
The fig tree and the vine have yielded in full.23
So rejoice, O sons of Zion,
And be glad in the LORD your God;
For He has given you the early rain for {your} vindication.
And He has poured down for you the rain,
The early and latter rain as before.24
The threshing floors will be full of grain,
And the vats will overflow with the new wine and oil.25
“Then I will make up to you for the years
That the swarming locust has eaten,
The creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust,
My great army which I sent among you.26
“You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied
And praise the name of the LORD your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
Then My people will never be put to shame.27
“Thus you will know that I am in the midst of Israel,
And that I am the LORD your God,
And there is no other;
And My people will never be put to shame.

The Promise of the Spirit

28
“It will come about after this
That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind;
And your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.29
“Even on the male and female servants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

The Day of the L{ORD}30
“I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth,
Blood, fire and columns of smoke.31
“The sun will be turned into darkness
And the moon into blood
Before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.32
“And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the LORD
Will be delivered;
For on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem
There will be those who escape,
As the LORD has said,
Even among the survivors whom the LORD calls.

The Devastation of Locusts

1 The word of the LORD that came to Joel, the son of Pethuel:2
Hear this, O elders,
And listen, all inhabitants of the land.
Has {anything like} this happened in your days
Or in your fathers’ days?3
Tell your sons about it,
And {let} your sons {tell} their sons,
And their sons the next generation.

4
What the gnawing locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten;
And what the swarming locust has left, the creeping locust has eaten;
And what the creeping locust has left, the stripping locust has eaten.5
Awake, drunkards, and weep;
And wail, all you wine drinkers,
On account of the sweet wine
That is cut off from your mouth.6
For a nation has invaded my land,
Mighty and without number;
Its teeth are the teeth of a lion,
And it has the fangs of a lioness.7
It has made my vine a waste
And my fig tree splinters.
It has stripped them bare and cast {them} away;
Their branches have become white.

8
Wail like a virgin girded with sackcloth
For the bridegroom of her youth.9
The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off
From the house of the LORD.
The priests mourn,
The ministers of the LORD.10
The field is ruined,
The land mourns;
For the grain is ruined,
The new wine dries up,
Fresh oil fails.11
Be ashamed, O farmers,
Wail, O vinedressers,
For the wheat and the barley;
Because the harvest of the field is destroyed.12
The vine dries up
And the fig tree fails;
The pomegranate, the palm also, and the apple tree,
All the trees of the field dry up.
Indeed, rejoicing dries up
From the sons of men.

13
Gird yourselves {with sackcloth}
And lament, O priests;
Wail, O ministers of the altar!
Come, spend the night in sackcloth
O ministers of my God,
For the grain offering and the drink offering
Are withheld from the house of your God.

Starvation and Drought14
Consecrate a fast,
Proclaim a solemn assembly;
Gather the elders
{And} all the inhabitants of the land
To the house of the LORD your God,
And cry out to the LORD.15
Alas for the day!
For the day of the LORD is near,
And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.16
Has not food been cut off before our eyes,
Gladness and joy from the house of our God?17
The seeds shrivel under their clods;
The storehouses are desolate,
The barns are torn down,
For the grain is dried up.18
How the beasts groan!
The herds of cattle wander aimlessly
Because there is no pasture for them;
Even the flocks of sheep suffer.19
To You, O LORD, I cry;
For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness
And the flame has burned up all the trees of the field.20
Even the beasts of the field pant for You;
For the water brooks are dried up
And fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.

Israel’s Future Blessing

1
Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God,
For you have stumbled because of your iniquity. 2
Take words with you and return to the LORD.
Say to Him, “Take away all iniquity
And receive {us} graciously,
That we may present the fruit of our lips. 3
“Assyria will not save us,
We will not ride on horses;
Nor will we say again, `Our god,’
To the work of our hands;
For in You the orphan finds mercy.

 4
I will heal their apostasy,
I will love them freely,
For My anger has turned away from them. 5
I will be like the dew to Israel;
He will blossom like the lily,
And he will take root like {the cedars of} Lebanon. 6
His shoots will sprout,
And his beauty will be like the olive tree
And his fragrance like {the cedars of} Lebanon. 7
Those who live in his shadow
Will again raise grain,
And they will blossom like the vine.
His renown {will be} like the wine of Lebanon.

 8
O Ephraim, what more have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like a luxuriant cypress;
From Me comes your fruit.  9
Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
{Whoever} is discerning, let him know them.
For the ways of the LORD are right,
And the righteous will walk in them,
But transgressors will stumble in them.<PE>

Ephraim’s Idolatry

1
When Ephraim spoke, {there was} trembling.
He exalted himself in Israel,
But through Baal he did wrong and died. 2
And now they sin more and more,
And make for themselves molten images,
Idols skillfully made from their silver,
All of them the work of craftsmen.
They say of them, “Let the men who sacrifice kiss the calves! 3
Therefore they will be like the morning cloud
And like dew which soon disappears,
Like chaff which is blown away from the threshing floor
And like smoke from a chimney.

 4
Yet I {have been} the LORD your God
Since the land of Egypt;
And you were not to know any god except Me,
For there is no savior besides Me. 5
I cared for you in the wilderness,
In the land of drought. 6
As {they had} their pasture, they became satisfied,
And being satisfied, their heart became proud;
Therefore they forgot Me. 7
So I will be like a lion to them;
Like a leopard I will lie in wait by the wayside. 8
I will encounter them like a bear robbed of her cubs,
And I will tear open their chests;
There I will also devour them like a lioness,
{As} a wild beast would tear them.

 9
{It is} your destruction, O Israel,
That {you are} against Me, against your help. 10
Where now is your king
That he may save you in all your cities,
And your judges of whom you requested,
“Give me a king and princes? 11
I gave you a king in My anger
And took him away in My wrath.

 12
The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up;
His sin is stored up. 13
The pains of childbirth come upon him;
He is not a wise son,
For it is not the time that he should delay at the opening of the womb. 14
Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol?
Shall I redeem them from death?
O Death, where are your thorns?
O Sheol, where is your sting?
Compassion will be hidden from My sight.

 15
Though he flourishes among the reeds,
An east wind will come,
The wind of the LORD coming up from the wilderness;
And his fountain will become dry
And his spring will be dried up;
It will plunder {his} treasury of every precious article. 16
Samaria will be held guilty,
For she has rebelled against her God.
They will fall by the sword,
Their little ones will be dashed in pieces,
And their pregnant women will be ripped open.

Ephraim Reminded

1
Ephraim feeds on wind,
And pursues the east wind continually;
He multiplies lies and violence.
Moreover, he makes a covenant with Assyria,
And oil is carried to Egypt. 2
The LORD also has a dispute with Judah,
And will punish Jacob according to his ways;
He will repay him according to his deeds. 3
In the womb he took his brother by the heel,
And in his maturity he contended with God. 4
Yes, he wrestled with the angel and prevailed;
He wept and sought His favor.
He found Him at Bethel
And there He spoke with us, 5
Even the LORD, the God of hosts,
The LORD is His name. 6
Therefore, return to your God,
Observe kindness and justice,
And wait for your God continually. 7
A merchant, in whose hands are false balances,
He loves to oppress. 8
And Ephraim said, “Surely I have become rich,
I have found wealth for myself;
In all my labors they will find in me
No iniquity, which {would be} sin. 9
But I {have been} the LORD your God since the land of Egypt;
I will make you live in tents again,
As in the days of the appointed festival. 10
I have also spoken to the prophets,
And I gave numerous visions,
And through the prophets I gave parables. 11
Is there iniquity {in} Gilead?
Surely they are worthless.
In Gilgal they sacrifice bulls,
Yes, their altars are like the stone heaps
Beside the furrows of the field.

 12
Now Jacob fled to the land of Aram,
And Israel worked for a wife,
And for a wife he kept {sheep.} 13
But by a prophet the LORD brought Israel from Egypt,
And by a prophet he was kept. 14
Ephraim has provoked to bitter anger;
So his Lord will leave his bloodguilt on him
And bring back his reproach to him.

God Yearns over His People

1
When Israel {was} a youth I loved him,
And out of Egypt I called My son. 2
The more they called them,
The more they went from them;
They kept sacrificing to the Baals
And burning incense to idols. 3
Yet it is I who taught Ephraim to walk,
I took them in My arms;
But they did not know that I healed them. 4
I led them with cords of a man, with bonds of love,
And I became to them as one who lifts the yoke from their jaws;
And I bent down {and} fed them.

 5
They will not return to the land of Egypt;
But Assyria–he will be their king
Because they refused to return {to Me.} 6
The sword will whirl against their cities,
And will demolish their gate bars
And consume {them} because of their counsels. 7
So My people are bent on turning from Me.
Though they call them to {the One} on high,
None at all exalts {Him.}

 8
How can I give you up, O Ephraim?
How can I surrender you, O Israel?
How can I make you like Admah?
How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
My heart is turned over within Me,
All My compassions are kindled. 9
I will not execute My fierce anger;
I will not destroy Ephraim again.
For I am God and not man, the Holy One in your midst,
And I will not come in wrath. 10
They will walk after the LORD,
He will roar like a lion;
Indeed He will roar
And {His} sons will come trembling from the west. 11
They will come trembling like birds from Egypt
And like doves from the land of Assyria;
And I will settle them in their houses, declares the LORD.

 12
Ephraim surrounds Me with lies
And the house of Israel with deceit;
Judah is also unruly against God,
Even against the Holy One who is faithful.

Retribution for Israel’s Sin

1
Israel is a luxuriant vine;
He produces fruit for himself.
The more his fruit,
The more altars he made;
The richer his land,
The better he made the {sacred} pillars. 2
Their heart is faithless;
Now they must bear their guilt.
The LORD will break down their altars
{And} destroy their {sacred} pillars.

 3
Surely now they will say, “We have no king,
For we do not revere the LORD.
As for the king, what can he do for us? 4
They speak {mere} words,
With worthless oaths they make covenants;
And judgment sprouts like poisonous weeds in the furrows of the field. 5
The inhabitants of Samaria will fear
For the calf of Beth-aven.
Indeed, its people will mourn for it,
And its idolatrous priests will cry out over it,
Over its glory, since it has departed from it. 6
The thing itself will be carried to Assyria
As tribute to King Jareb;
Ephraim will be seized with shame
And Israel will be ashamed of its own counsel. 7
Samaria will be cut off {with} her king
Like a stick on the surface of the water. 8
Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be destroyed;
Thorn and thistle will grow on their altars;
Then they will say to the mountains,
“Cover us! And to the hills, “Fall on us! 9
From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, O Israel;
There they stand!
Will not the battle against the sons of iniquity overtake them in Gibeah? 10
When it is My desire, I will chastise them;
And the peoples will be gathered against them
When they are bound for their double guilt.

 11
Ephraim is a trained heifer that loves to thresh,
But I will come over her fair neck {with a yoke;}
I will harness Ephraim,
Judah will plow, Jacob will harrow for himself. 12
Sow with a view to righteousness,
Reap in accordance with kindness;
Break up your fallow ground,
For it is time to seek the LORD
Until He comes to rain righteousness on you. 13
You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice,
You have eaten the fruit of lies.
Because you have trusted in your way, in your numerous warriors, 14
Therefore a tumult will arise among your people,
And all your fortresses will be destroyed,
As Shalman destroyed Beth-arbel on the day of battle,
{When} mothers were dashed in pieces with {their} children. 15
Thus it will be done to you at Bethel because of your great wickedness.
At dawn the king of Israel will be completely cut off.