Amos 1

KJV · Chapter 1/9

1The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.

2And he said, The Lord will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.

3Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:

4But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Ben–hadad.

5I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the Lord.

6Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:

7But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:

8And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God.

9Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:

10But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.

11Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:

12But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.

13Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:

14But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:

15And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the Lord.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

Amos, a simple shepherd from Judah, begins by pronouncing judgment on the surrounding nations — Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, and Ammon — for their cruelty and crimes against humanity.

Explanation

Amos uses a powerful repeating formula: 'for three transgressions... and for four,' signaling that God's patience with accumulated sin has finally run out. It is a strategically brilliant approach: by first condemning the surrounding nations for war crimes (such as dismembering populations and selling entire peoples into slavery), Amos wins the sympathy of his Israelite listeners before turning the accusation, in the chapters that follow, against Israel itself. This shows that God's moral standard is universal, not reserved only for the covenant people. The application for today: it is easy to condemn the injustice of others, but the true test of character is accepting correction directed at ourselves.

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