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Amós 2

ARC · Chapter 2/9

1Assim diz o Senhor: Por tres transgressões de Moab, e por quatro, não o afastarei, porque queimou os ossos do rei de Edom, até os tornar em cal.

2Por isso porei fogo a Moab, e consumirá os palacios de Querioth: e Moab morrerá com grande estrondo, com alarido, com sonido de buzina.

3E exterminarei o juiz do meio d'elle, e a todos os seus principes com elle matarei, diz o Senhor.

4Assim diz o Senhor: Por tres transgressões de Judah, e por quatro, não o afastarei, porque rejeitaram a lei do Senhor, e não guardaram os seus estatutos, e as suas mentiras os enganaram, após as quaes andaram seus paes.

5Por isso porei fogo a Judah, e consumirá os palacios de Jerusalem.

6Assim diz o Senhor: Por tres transgressões de Israel, e por quatro, não o afastarei, porque vendem o justo por dinheiro, e o necessitado por um par de sapatos,

7Suspirando pelo pó da terra sobre a cabeça dos pobres, e pervertem o caminho dos mansos; e o homem e seu pae entram a uma mesma moça, para profanarem o meu sancto nome.

8E se deitam junto a qualquer altar sobre as roupas empenhadas, e bebem o vinho dos multados na casa de seus deuses.

9Não obstante eu ter destruido o amorrheo diante d'elles, cuja altura foi como a altura dos cedros, e foi forte como os carvalhos; mas destrui o seu fructo por cima, e as suas raizes por baixo.

10Tambem vos fiz subir da terra do Egypto, e quarenta annos vos guiei no deserto, para que possuisseis a terra do amorrheo.

11E a alguns d'entre vossos filhos suscitei para prophetas, e alguns d'entre os vossos mancebos para nazireos; e não é isto assim, filhos de Israel? diz o Senhor.

12Mas vós aos nazireos déstes vinho a beber, e aos prophetas mandastes, dizendo: Não prophetizareis.

13Eis que eu vos apertarei no vosso logar como se aperta um carro cheio de manolhos.

14Assim que perecerá a fugida ao ligeiro; nem o forte corroborará a sua força, nem o valente livrará a sua vida.

15E não ficará em pé o que leva o arco, nem o ligeiro de pés se livrará, nem tão pouco o que vae montado a cavallo livrará a sua alma.

16E o mais animoso entre os valentes fugirá nú n'aquelle dia, disse o Senhor.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Amos goes on to condemn Moab and finally Judah, before turning his harshest judgment on Israel, accused of selling the poor, exploiting the needy, and silencing prophets and Nazirites.

Explanation

The strategic turn comes here: after condemning six foreign nations, Amos includes Judah (for rejecting the law of the LORD) and then Israel — the true audience of the sermon. The charges against Israel are far more detailed: economic exploitation of the poor, injustice in the courts, sexual immorality disguised as religion, and even silencing the few who tried to live a consecrated life (the Nazirites). The paradox is severe: the very people God rescued from Egypt and led for forty years now oppress the weakest among their own nation. The lesson for today: spiritual privileges received in the past do not exempt anyone from present responsibility for social justice.

Fun facts

  • The Nazirites (v. 11-12) were people who took a special vow of consecration to God, including abstaining from wine (Numbers 6) — Israel corrupted them by offering them wine to drink, and silenced the prophets, showing active hostility toward authentic spiritual life.
  • 'They sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes' (v. 6) describes judicial corruption: bribes as small as the price of a pair of sandals were enough to unjustly condemn the poor in court.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Amós 2:1Burning a king’s bones until they turned to lime was an extreme act of desecration, denying the dead even the right to his own grave; Moab is accused of this kind of disproportionate revenge against an already-dead king.
  2. Amós 2:2The same pattern of fire falls on Moab, accused in the previous verse of desecrating the bones of the king of Edom until they turned to lime.
  3. Amós 2:3Concludes the oracle against Moab, wiping out the country’s entire political leadership — judge and princes killed together.
  4. Amós 2:4The sequence of oracles against the neighboring nations finally reaches Judah — unlike the others, the accusation here is religious: rejecting the law of the Lord.
  5. Amós 2:5The same pattern of fire falls on Judah, including its own capital, Jerusalem, closing the circle of judged nations before Amos turns his aim to Israel.
  6. Amós 2:6Selling “the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes” describes small debts being used as an excuse to enslave poor people — social injustice becomes the central sin Amos hammers against Israel.
  7. Amós 2:7Images of extreme oppression of the poor, and a father and son sexually exploiting the same woman, probably in prostitution linked to pagan cults.
  8. Amós 2:8Clothes taken as pledges were supposed to be returned by night, according to the law (Exodus 22); here they become a rug to lie on next to the altar, and the wine they drink comes from the fines charged to the poor — abuse disguised as religion.
  9. Amós 2:9God recalls that he completely destroyed the Amorites, a people as strong as cedars, to give the land to Israel — a historical favor the people have forgotten.
  10. Amós 2:10Recalls the Exodus and the forty years in the wilderness as part of the same historical care from God, now ignored by the people.
  11. Amós 2:11God recalls that he also raised up prophets and Nazirites (people under a special vow of dedication) from within the people themselves — another sign of care that was rejected.
  12. Amós 2:12Nazirites were people who made a special vow not to drink wine (Numbers 6); deliberately giving them wine, and also telling the prophets to be silent, shows a people attacking the very few examples of faithfulness it had.
  13. Amós 2:13The image of an ox cart so full of sheaves that it creaks and sinks into the ground — this is how God is going to “press” the people under the weight of judgment.
  14. Amós 2:14Not even the fastest, the strongest, or the bravest will manage to escape the announced judgment.
  15. Amós 2:15The list continues: not archers, not runners, not horsemen will be saved — no military skill will help.
  16. Amós 2:16Even the bravest soldier will flee with nothing, dropping weapons and clothes, pure panic on the day of punishment.

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