Study Desk

The words of ‘Amos, one of the sheep owners in T'koa, which he saw concerning Isra'el in the days of ‘Uziyah king of Y'hudah and Yarov‘am the son of Yo'ash, king of Isra'el, two years before the earthquake;

he said: Adonai is roaring from Tziyon thundering from Yerushalayim; the shepherds' pastures will mourn, and Mount Karmel's summit will wither.

Here is what Adonai says: "For Dammesek's three crimes, no, four — I will not reverse it — because they threshed Gil‘ad with an iron-spiked threshing-sledge;

I will send fire to the house of Haza'el, and it will consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.

I will break the bars of Dammesek's gates. I will cut off the inhabitants from Bik‘at-Aven, and him who holds the scepter from Beit-‘Eden. Then the people of Aram will go into exile in Kir," says Adonai .

Here is what Adonai says: "For ‘Azah's three crimes, no, four — I will not reverse it — because they exiled a whole population and handed them over to Edom;

I will send fire to the wall of ‘Azah, and it will consume its palaces.

I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon. I will turn my hand against ‘Ekron, and the rest of the P'lishtim will perish," says Adonai , God.

Here is what Adonai says: "For Tzor's three crimes, no, four — I will not reverse it — because they exiled a whole population to Edom and did not remember the covenant with kinsmen;

I will send fire to the wall of Tzor, and it will consume its palaces."

Here is what Adonai says: "For Edom's three crimes, no, four — I will not reverse it — because with sword he pursued his kinsman and threw aside all pity, constantly nursing his anger, forever fomenting his fury;

I will send fire on Teman, and it will consume the palaces of Botzrah."

Here is what Adonai says: "For the people of ‘Amon's three crimes, no, four — I will not reverse it — because they ripped apart pregnant women just to expand their territory,

I will set fire to the wall of Rabbah, and it will consume its palaces amid shouts on the day of battle, amid a storm on the day of the whirlwind.

Their king will go into exile, he and his princes together," says Adonai .

Here is what Adonai says: "For Mo'av's three crimes, no, four — I will not reverse it — because he burned the bones of the king of Edom, turning them into lime;

I will send fire on Mo'av, and it will consume the palaces of K'riot. Mo'av will die with turmoil and shouting, along with the sound of the shofar.

I will cut off the judge from among them and kill all his princes with him," says Adonai .

Here is what Adonai says: "For Y'hudah's three crimes, no, four — I will not reverse it — because they rejected Adonai 's Torah and haven't observed his laws, and their lies caused them to fall into error and live the way their ancestors did;

I will send fire on Y'hudah, and it will consume the palaces of Yerushalayim.

Here is what Adonai says: "For Isra'el's three crimes, no, four — I will not reverse it — because they sell the upright for silver and the poor for a pair of shoes,

grinding the heads of the poor in the dust and pushing the lowly out of the way; father and son sleep with the same girl, profaning my holy name;

lying down beside any altar on clothes taken in pledge; drinking wine in the house of their God bought with fines they imposed.

"I destroyed the Emori before them; though tall as cedars and strong as oaks, I destroyed their fruit above and their root below.

More than that, I brought you up from Egypt, led you forty years in the desert, so that you could have the Emori's land.

I raised up some of your sons to be prophets, other young men of yours to be n'zirim. People of Isra'el! Isn't that true?" asks Adonai .

But you gave the n'zirim wine to drink and ordered the prophets, ‘Don't prophesy!'

"Enough! I will make all this crush you, just as a cart overloaded with grain crushes what's under it.

Even the swift won't be able to flee; the strong won't be able to use their strength, the warriors won't save themselves.

Archers won't be able to stand, the fastest runners won't save themselves, those on horses won't save themselves.

On that day even the bravest warriors will throw off their weapons and flee," says Adonai .

"Listen to this word which Adonai has spoken against you, people of Isra'el, against the entire family that I brought up from the land of Egypt:

"Of all the families on earth, only you have I intimately known. This is why I will punish you for all your crimes."

Do two people travel together without having so agreed?

Does a lion roar in the forest when it has no prey? Does a young lion growl in his lair if it has caught nothing?

Does a bird get caught in a trap on the ground if it hasn't been baited? Does a trap spring up from the ground when it has taken nothing?

When the shofar is blown in the city, don't the people tremble? Can disaster befall a city without Adonai 's having done it?

Adonai , God, does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.

The lion has roared. Who will not fear? Adonai , God, has spoken. Who will not prophesy?

"Proclaim it on the palaces in Ashdod and on the palaces in the land of Egypt; say: ‘Assemble yourselves on the hills of Shomron! See what great tumult is seething within it, how much oppression is being done there.'

For they don't know how to do right," says Adonai . "They store up violence and robbery in their palaces."

Therefore, here is what Adonai Elohim says: "An enemy will surround the land. He will strip you of your strength, and plunder your palaces."

This is what Adonai says:

"As a shepherd rescues from the mouth of a lion a couple of leg bones or a piece of an ear; so the people of Isra'el in Shomron will be rescued, huddled under cushions in the corners of their beds. "Hear, and testify against the house of Ya‘akov," says Adonai Elohim Elohei-Tzva'ot.

"For when I punish Isra'el's crimes, I will also punish the altars of Beit-El. The horns of the altar will be cut off, and they will fall to the ground.

I will tear down winter houses as well as summer houses; houses adorned with ivory will be destroyed; the mansions will be no more," says Adonai .

"Listen, you [lovely] cows of Bashan, who live on Mount Shomron, who oppress the poor and grind down the needy, who say to their husbands, ‘Bring something to drink':

Adonai Elohim has sworn by his holiness that your time is surely coming. "You will be dragged away with hooks, the last of you with fishhooks.

You will leave through breaks in the wall, each woman right behind the next, and be sent off to Harmonah," says Adonai .

"Come to Beit-El, and commit crimes; to Gilgal, and commit more crimes! Bring your sacrifices in the morning and your tithes after three days;

burn leavened bread as a thank offering; brag in public about your voluntary offerings; because that's what you love to do, Isra'el!" says Adonai Elohim .

"I made your teeth clean of food in all your cities, left you nothing to eat in all your villages; still you haven't returned to me," says Adonai .

"I withheld the rain from you three months before the harvest. I made it rain on one city and not on another — one field had rain, while another with no rain dried up;

from two or three cities they would stagger to one city for water to drink, but there wasn't enough; still you haven't returned to me," says Adonai .

"I struck your crops with hot winds and blight, your many gardens and vineyards; the cutter-worms devoured your fig and olive trees; still you haven't returned to me," says Adonai .

"I sent a plague on you like that of Egypt, put your young men to death with the sword; let your horses be captured; and filled your nostrils with the stench of your camps; still you haven't returned to me," says Adonai .

"I overthrew some of you, as when God overthrew S'dom and ‘Amora; you were like a burning stick snatched from the fire; still you haven't returned to me," says Adonai .

"This is why I will deal with you in this way, Isra'el; and because I will deal with you in this way, prepare to meet your God, Isra'el —

him who forms mountains and creates wind, who declares to humankind his thoughts, who turns the morning to darkness and strides on the heights of the earth — Adonai Elohei -Tzva'ot is his name."