Amos 2:6-16

Amos 2:6-16 The Message (MSG)

GOD’s Message: “Because of the three great sins of Israel —make that four—I’m not putting up with them any longer. They buy and sell upstanding people. People for them are only things—ways of making money. They’d sell a poor man for a pair of shoes. They’d sell their own grandmother! They grind the penniless into the dirt, shove the luckless into the ditch. Everyone and his brother sleeps with the ‘sacred whore’— a sacrilege against my Holy Name. Stuff they’ve extorted from the poor is piled up at the shrine of their god, While they sit around drinking wine they’ve conned from their victims. “In contrast, I was always on your side. I destroyed the Amorites who confronted you, Amorites with the stature of great cedars, tough as thick oaks. I destroyed them from the top branches down. I destroyed them from the roots up. And yes, I’m the One who delivered you from Egypt, led you safely through the wilderness for forty years And then handed you the country of the Amorites like a piece of cake on a platter. I raised up some of your young men to be prophets, set aside your best youth for training in holiness. Isn’t this so, Israel?” GOD’s Decree. “But you made the youth-in-training break training, and you told the young prophets, ‘Don’t prophesy!’ You’re too much for me. I’m hard-pressed—to the breaking point. I’m like a wagon piled high and overloaded, creaking and groaning. “When I go into action, what will you do? There’s no place to run no matter how fast you run. The strength of the strong won’t count. Fighters won’t make it. Skilled archers won’t make it. Fast runners won’t make it. Chariot drivers won’t make it. Even the bravest of all your warriors Won’t make it. He’ll run off for dear life, stripped naked.” GOD’s Decree.

Amos 2:6-16 King James Version (KJV)

Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for a pair of shoes; that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father will go in unto the same maid, to profane my holy name: and they lay themselves down upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar, and they drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god. Yet destroyed I 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. Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazarites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the LORD. But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink; and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. Behold, I am pressed under you, as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves. Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty deliver himself: neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself: neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself. And he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith the LORD.

Amos 2:6-16 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)

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. 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. 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. “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. 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. 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. “But you made the Nazirites drink wine, And you commanded the prophets saying, ‘You shall not prophesy!’ Behold, I am weighted down beneath you As a wagon is weighted down when filled with sheaves. Flight will perish from the swift, And the stalwart will not strengthen his power, Nor the mighty man save his life. 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. Even the bravest among the warriors will flee naked in that day,” declares the LORD.

Amos 2:6-16 New Century Version (NCV)

This is what the LORD says: “For the many crimes of Israel, I will punish them. For silver, they sell people who have done nothing wrong; they sell the poor to buy a pair of sandals. They walk on poor people as if they were dirt, and they refuse to be fair to those who are suffering. Fathers and sons have sexual relations with the same woman, and so they ruin my holy name. As they worship at their altars, they lie down on clothes taken from the poor. They fine people, and with that money they buy wine to drink in the house of their god. “But it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them, who were tall like cedar trees and as strong as oaks— I destroyed them completely. It was I who brought you from the land of Egypt and led you for forty years through the desert so I could give you the land of the Amorites. I made some of your children to be prophets and some of your young people to be Nazirites. People of Israel, isn’t this true?” says the LORD. “But you made the Nazirites drink wine and told the prophets not to prophesy. Now I will make you get stuck, as a wagon loaded with grain gets stuck. No one will escape, not even the fastest runner. Strong people will not be strong enough; warriors will not be able to save themselves. Soldiers with bows and arrows will not stand and fight, and even fast runners will not get away; soldiers on horses will not escape alive. At that time even the bravest warriors will run away without their armor,” says the LORD.

Amos 2:6-16 American Standard Version (ASV)

Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have sold the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes— they that pant after the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, and turn aside the way of the meek: and a man and his father go unto the same maiden, to profane my holy name: and they lay themselves down beside every altar upon clothes taken in pledge; and in the house of their God they drink the wine of such as have been fined. Yet destroyed I 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. 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. And I raised up of your sons for prophets, and of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith Jehovah. But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not. Behold, I will press you in your place, as a cart presseth that is full of sheaves. And flight shall perish from the swift; and the strong shall not strengthen his force; neither shall the mighty deliver himself; neither shall he stand that handleth the bow; and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself; neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself; and he that is courageous among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day, saith Jehovah.

Amos 2:6-16 New International Version (NIV)

This is what the LORD says: “For three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not relent. They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. In the house of their god they drink wine taken as fines. “Yet I destroyed the Amorites before them, though they were tall as the cedars and strong as the oaks. I destroyed their fruit above and their roots below. I brought you up out of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness to give you the land of the Amorites. “I also raised up prophets from among your children and Nazirites from among your youths. Is this not true, people of Israel?” declares the LORD. “But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy. “Now then, I will crush you as a cart crushes when loaded with grain. The swift will not escape, the strong will not muster their strength, and the warrior will not save his life. The archer will not stand his ground, the fleet-footed soldier will not get away, and the horseman will not save his life. Even the bravest warriors will flee naked on that day,” declares the LORD.

Amos 2:6-16 New King James Version (NKJV)

Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they sell the righteous for silver, And the poor for a pair of sandals. They pant after the dust of the earth which is on the head of the poor, And pervert the way of the humble. A man and his father go in to the same girl, To defile My holy name. They lie down by every altar on clothes taken in pledge, And drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their god. “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, Whose height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; Yet I destroyed his fruit above And his roots beneath. Also it was I who brought you up from the land of Egypt, And led you forty years through the wilderness, To possess the land of the Amorite. I raised up some of your sons as prophets, And some of your young men as Nazirites. Is it not so, O you children of Israel?” Says the LORD. “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, And commanded the prophets saying, ‘Do not prophesy!’ “Behold, I am weighed down by you, As a cart full of sheaves is weighed down. Therefore flight shall perish from the swift, The strong shall not strengthen his power, Nor shall the mighty deliver himself; He shall not stand who handles the bow, The swift of foot shall not escape, Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself. The most courageous men of might Shall flee naked in that day,” Says the LORD.

Amos 2:6-16 Amplified Bible (AMP)

Thus says the LORD, “For three transgressions of Israel and for four (multiplied delinquencies) I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it, Because they sell the righteous and innocent for silver And the needy for the price of a pair of sandals. These who pant after (long to see) the dust of the earth on the head of the helpless [as sign of their grief and distress] Also turn aside the way of the humble; And a man and his father will go to the same girl So that My holy name is profaned. They stretch out beside every [pagan] altar on clothes taken in pledge [to secure a loan, disregarding God’s command], And in the house of their God [in contempt of Him] they frivolously drink the wine [which has been] taken from those who have been fined. “Yet it was I [not the false gods] who destroyed the Amorite before them, Though his height was like the height of the cedars, And he was as strong as the oaks; I even destroyed his fruit above and his root below. Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt, And I led you forty years through the wilderness That you might possess the land of the Amorite. Then I raised up some of your sons to be prophets [who gave you My revelation], And some of your young men to be Nazirites (dedicated ones). Is this not true, O you children of Israel?” says the LORD. “But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink [despite their vows] And commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy!’ Behold, I am weighted down beneath you As a cart that is weighted down when it is full of sheaves. Flight will be lost to the swift [so they will be unable to escape], And the strong shall not strengthen nor maintain his power, Nor shall the mighty man save his own life. He who handles the bow will not stand his ground, The one who is swift of foot will not escape, Nor will he who rides the horse save his life [from the invading army]. Even the bravest among the warriors shall flee naked on that day,” says the LORD.

Amos 2:6-16 New Living Translation (NLT)

This is what the LORD says: “The people of Israel have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They sell honorable people for silver and poor people for a pair of sandals. They trample helpless people in the dust and shove the oppressed out of the way. Both father and son sleep with the same woman, corrupting my holy name. At their religious festivals, they lounge in clothing their debtors put up as security. In the house of their gods, they drink wine bought with unjust fines. “But as my people watched, I destroyed the Amorites, though they were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks. I destroyed the fruit on their branches and dug out their roots. It was I who rescued you from Egypt and led you through the desert for forty years, so you could possess the land of the Amorites. I chose some of your sons to be prophets and others to be Nazirites. Can you deny this, my people of Israel?” asks the LORD. “But you caused the Nazirites to sin by making them drink wine, and you commanded the prophets, ‘Shut up!’ “So I will make you groan like a wagon loaded down with sheaves of grain. Your fastest runners will not get away. The strongest among you will become weak. Even mighty warriors will be unable to save themselves. The archers will not stand their ground. The swiftest runners won’t be fast enough to escape. Even those riding horses won’t be able to save themselves. On that day the most courageous of your fighting men will drop their weapons and run for their lives,” says the LORD.

Amos 2:6-16 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)

Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals— those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined. “Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite. And I raised up some of your sons for prophets, and some of your young men for Nazirites. Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?” declares the LORD. “But you made the Nazirites drink wine, and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘You shall not prophesy.’ “Behold, I will press you down in your place, as a cart full of sheaves presses down. Flight shall perish from the swift, and the strong shall not retain his strength, nor shall the mighty save his life; he who handles the bow shall not stand, and he who is swift of foot shall not save himself, nor shall he who rides the horse save his life; and he who is stout of heart among the mighty shall flee away naked in that day,” declares the LORD.