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Amos 2

Amos brings God’s judgment from neighboring nations to Israel, whose oppression and rejection of his gifts leave it without escape.

Moab has burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime, and YHWH announces punishment through Amos. The accusations then turn to Judah for rejecting God’s law and to Israel for exploiting the poor and corrupting worship. God recalls how he delivered Israel from Egypt, defeated the Amorites, and raised up prophets and Nazirites. Israel has resisted those gifts. The chapter ends with a judgment from which speed, strength, and military skill cannot secure escape.

injustice and angersermon or Bible study notes
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1The LORD says: “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;
2but 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;
3and I will cut off the judge from among them, and will kill all its princes with him,” says the LORD.
4The LORD says: “For three transgressions of Judah, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment, because they have rejected the LORD’s law, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have led them astray, after which their fathers walked;
5but I will send a fire on Judah, and it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem.”
6The LORD says: “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 sandals;
7They trample the heads of the poor into the dust of the earth and deny justice to the oppressed. A man and his father use the same maiden, to profane my holy name.
8They lay themselves down beside every altar on clothes taken in pledge. In the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.
9Yet 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.
10Also 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.
11I 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 the LORD.
12“But you gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the prophets, saying, ‘Don’t prophesy!’
13Behold, I will crush you in your place, as a cart crushes that is full of grain.
14Flight will perish from the swift. The strong won’t strengthen his force. The mighty won’t deliver himself.
15He who handles the bow won’t stand. He who is swift of foot won’t escape. He who rides the horse won’t deliver himself.
16He who is courageous among the mighty will flee away naked on that day,” says the LORD.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Amos 2:6The accusation turns toward Israel, exposing a society that treats righteous and needy people as goods to be sold.
Amos 2:9God recalls defeating the formidable Amorites, setting his past help against Israel’s present betrayal.
Amos 2:14The closing judgment strips away confidence in speed and strength, declaring that human ability cannot secure escape.
Where this chapter reaches

Deuteronomy shares the account of deliverance from Egypt, wilderness years, and victory over the Amorites; Numbers supplies the Nazirite vow’s prohibition of wine, which Israel violates here. Micah shares Amos’s condemnation of those who exploit the poor while maintaining religious practices.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What stands out in the contrast between God’s gifts to Israel and Israel’s treatment of vulnerable people?

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How does the closing picture of failed escape shape your reading of the accusations against Israel?

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Questions people ask about Amos 2

What does “For three transgressions” mean in Amos 2?

The repeated formula, “For three transgressions,” followed by “yes, for four,” presents wrongdoing as accumulated and overflowing. It is a poetic pattern rather than an exact count of offenses. Each announcement names grounds for judgment, moving from Moab’s outrage against Edom’s king to Judah’s rejection of God’s law and Israel’s oppression.

Why does Amos 2 say Israel sold the needy for a pair of sandals?

The phrase exposes how little Israel’s exploiters valued poor people. It may refer to selling debtors into slavery over a trivial debt or to corrupt dealings for a small payment. The text does not specify the transaction. The surrounding accusations make the central charge clear: vulnerable people are denied justice for financial gain.

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Amos · 9 chapters
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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).