The Judgments on Israel's Neighbors

11 The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen 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. 2 He said:

“Yahweh will roar from Zion,
and utter his voice from Jerusalem;
and the pastures of the shepherds will mourn,
and the top of Carmel will wither.”

3 Thus says Yahweh:

“For three transgressions of Damascus, yes, for four,
I will not turn away its punishment;
because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron; 4 but I will send a fire into the house of Hazael,
and it will devour the palaces of Ben Hadad. 5 I will break the bar of Damascus,
and cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Aven,
and him who holds the scepter from the house of Eden;
and the people of Syria shall go into captivity to Kir,”
says Yahweh. 6 Thus says Yahweh:

“For three transgressions of Gaza, yes, for four,
I will not turn away its punishment;
because they carried away captive the whole community,
to deliver them up to Edom; 7 but I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza,
and it will devour its palaces. 8 I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod,
and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;
and I will turn my hand against Ekron;
and the remnant of the Philistines will perish,”
says the Lord Yahweh. 9 Thus says Yahweh:

“For three transgressions of Tyre, yes, for four,
I will not turn away its punishment;
because they delivered up the whole community to Edom,
and didn’t remember the brotherly covenant; 10 but I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre,
and it will devour its palaces.” 11 Thus says Yahweh:

“For three transgressions of Edom, yes, for four,
I will not turn away its punishment;
because he pursued his brother with the sword,
and cast off all pity,
and his anger raged continually,
and he kept his wrath forever; 12 but I will send a fire on Teman,
and it will devour the palaces of Bozrah.” 13 Thus says Yahweh:

“For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, yes, for four,
I will not turn away its punishment;
because they have ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead,
that they may enlarge their border. 14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah,
and it will devour its palaces,
with shouting in the day of battle,
with a storm in the day of the whirlwind; 15 and their king will go into captivity,
he and his princes together,”
says Yahweh.

21 Thus says Yahweh:

“For three transgressions of Moab, yes, for four,
I will not turn away its punishment;
because he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime; 2 but I will send a fire on Moab,
and it will devour the palaces of Kerioth;
and Moab will die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet; 3 and I will cut off the judge from their midst,
and will kill all its princes with him,”
says Yahweh. 4 Thus says Yahweh:

“For three transgressions of Judah, yes, for four,
I will not turn away its punishment;
because they have rejected Yahweh’s law,
and have not kept his statutes,
and their lies have led them astray,
after which their fathers walked; 5 But I will send a fire on Judah,
and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”

The Judgment on Israel

6 Thus says Yahweh:

“For three transgressions of Israel, yes, for four,
I will not turn away its punishment;
because they have sold the righteous for silver,
and the needy for a pair of shoes; 7 They trample on the dust of the earth on the head of the poor,
and deny justice to the oppressed;
and a man and his father use the same maiden, to profane my holy name; 8 and they lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge;
and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.

9 Yet I destroyed the Amorite before them,
whose height was like the height of the cedars,
and he was strong as the oaks;
yet I destroyed his fruit from above,
and his roots from beneath. 10 Also I brought you up out of the land of Egypt,
and led you forty years in the wilderness,
to possess the land of the Amorite. 11 I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
and some of your young men for Nazirites.
Isn’t this true,
you children of Israel?” says Yahweh. 12 “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink,
and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘Don’t prophesy!’ 13 Behold, I will crush you in your place,
as a cart crushes that is full of grain. 14 Flight will perish from the swift;
and the strong won’t strengthen his force;
neither shall the mighty deliver himself; 15 neither shall he stand who handles the bow;
and he who is swift of foot won’t escape;
neither shall he who rides the horse deliver himself; 16 and he who is courageous among the mighty will flee away naked on that day,”
says Yahweh.

The Roar of the Lion

31 Hear this word that Yahweh has spoken against you, children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up out of the land of Egypt, saying: 2 “You only have I chosen of all the families of the earth.
Therefore I will punish you for all of your sins.” 3 Do two walk together,
unless they have agreed? 4 Will a lion roar in the thicket,
when he has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out of his den,
if he has caught nothing? 5 Can a bird fall in a trap on the earth,
where no snare is set for him?
Does a snare spring up from the ground,
when there is nothing to catch? 6 Does the trumpet alarm sound in a city,
without the people being afraid?
Does evil happen to a city,
and Yahweh hasn’t done it? 7 Surely the Lord Yahweh will do nothing,
unless he reveals his secret to his servants the prophets. 8 The lion has roared.
Who will not fear?
The Lord Yahweh has spoken.
Who can but prophesy?

The Doom of Samaria

9 Proclaim in the palaces at Ashdod,
and in the palaces in the land of Egypt,
and say, “Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria,
and see what unrest is in her,
and what oppression is among them.” 10 “Indeed they don’t know to do right,” says Yahweh,
“Who hoard plunder and loot in their palaces.” 11 Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh:

“An adversary will overrun the land;
and he will pull down your strongholds,
and your fortresses will be plundered.” 12 Thus says Yahweh:

“As the shepherd rescues out of the mouth of the lion two legs,
or a piece of an ear,
so shall the children of Israel be rescued who sit in Samaria on the corner of a couch,
and on the silken cushions of a bed.” 13 “Listen, and testify against the house of Jacob,” says the Lord Yahweh, the God of Armies. 14 “For in the day that I visit the transgressions of Israel on him,
I will also visit the altars of Bethel;
and the horns of the altar will be cut off,
and fall to the ground. 15 I will strike the winter house with the summer house;
and the houses of ivory will perish,
and the great houses will have an end,”
says Yahweh.

The Seals

61 I saw that the Lamb opened one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying, as with a voice of thunder, “Come and see!” 2 And behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow. A crown was given to him, and he came forth conquering, and to conquer.

3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come!” 4 Another came forth, a red horse. To him who sat on it was given power to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another. There was given to him a great sword. 5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come and see!” And behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a balance in his hand. 6 I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A choenix [1] of wheat for a denarius, and three choenix of barley for a denarius! Don’t damage the oil and the wine!” 7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see!” 8 And behold, a pale horse, and he who sat on it, his name was Death. Hades [2] followed with him. Authority over one fourth of the earth, to kill with the sword, with famine, with death, and by the wild animals of the earth was given to him.

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed for the Word of God, and for the testimony of the Lamb which they had. 10 They cried with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Master, the holy and true, until you judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 A long white robe was given to each of them. They were told that they should rest yet for a while, until their fellow servants and their brothers, [3] who would also be killed even as they were, should complete their course. 12 I saw when he opened the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake. The sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood. 13 The stars of the sky fell to the earth, like a fig tree dropping its unripe figs when it is shaken by a great wind. 14 The sky was removed like a scroll when it is rolled up. Every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 15 The kings of the earth, the princes, the commanding officers, the rich, the strong, and every slave and free person, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains. 16 They told the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, 17 for the great day of his wrath has come; and who is able to stand?”