Passage
Amos 2.6-7
Book: Amos · ASV / WEB / KJV / YLT
Immediate context (±2 verses)
Sponsored
ASV (ASV)
"4. Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have rejected the law of Jehovah, and have not kept his statutes, and their lies have caused them to err, after which their fathers did walk: 5. but I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem."
"6. 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, 7. 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:"
"8. 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. 9. 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." (Amos 2:4-9, ASV)
WEB (WEB)
"4. Yahweh says: “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.”"
"6. Yahweh 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 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." (Amos 2:4-9, WEB)
KJV (KJV)
"4. Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have despised the law of the LORD, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err, after the which their fathers have walked: 5. But I will send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem."
"6. 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; 7. 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: maid: or, young woman"
"8. 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. the condemned: or, such as have fined, or, mulcted 9. 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." (Amos 2:4-9, KJV)
YLT (YLT)
"4. Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Judah, And for four, I do not reserve it, Because of their loathing the law of Jehovah, And His statutes they have not kept, And their lies do cause them to err, After which their fathers did walk, 5. And I have sent a fire against Judah, And it hath consumed palaces of Jerusalem."
"6. Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Israel, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of their selling for silver the righteous, And the needy for a pair of sandals. 7. Who are panting for the dust of the earth on the head of the poor, And the way of the humble they turn aside, And a man and his father go unto the damsel, So as to pollute My holy name."
"8. And on pledged garments they stretch themselves near every altar, And the wine of fined ones they drink [in] the house of their gods. 9. And I, I have destroyed the Amorite from before them, Whose height [is] as the height of cedars, And strong he [is] as the oaks, And I destroy his fruit from above, And his roots from beneath." (Amos 2:4-9, YLT)
Setting
- Speaker: Amos (a herdsman from Tekoa) + LORD direct discourse
- Audience: Northern Kingdom of Israel (during Jeroboam II)
- Location: Bethel (Northern Kingdom)
- Time period: ministry c. 760-750 BC
Theological reading
Key words
- H0001 - ab, ab (Strong's H1). Also appears in: Genesis 2.24, Genesis 11, Genesis 12.
- H3068 - YHWH, YHWH (Strong's H3068). Also appears in: Genesis 2.4, Genesis 2.7, Genesis 2.16-17.
- H6588 - pesha, pesha (Strong's H6588). Also appears in: Exodus 23.20-22, Exodus 34.6-7, Numbers 14.18.
- H7725 - shuv, shuv (Strong's H7725). Also appears in: Genesis 3, Genesis 15.16, Genesis 16.7-13.
- H8034 - shem, shem (Strong's H8034). Also appears in: Genesis 3, Genesis 4.26, Genesis 6.4.
Why these four translations
ris3n chose ASV, WEB, KJV, and YLT for two reasons together. They are the most literal English translations available (formal-equivalence: word-for-word renderings that preserve the Hebrew and Greek grammar rather than smoothing it into modern dynamic-equivalence idiom). And they are in the public domain in the United States, which means fair-use quotation at any length requires no publisher license. Modern licensed translations (NASB95, ESV, NIV) restrict volume of quotation under their copyright terms, so they are not used at stub-level coverage here. NASB95 appears only on hand-curated rich passage hubs under Lockman Foundation's fair-use allowance.
The four:
- ASV (American Standard Version, 1901). The basis of the modern critical-text English tradition.
- WEB (World English Bible, contemporary). Public-domain revision in the ASV line, in current English.
- KJV (King James Version, 1611). Reformation-era, Textus Receptus base.
- YLT (Young's Literal Translation, Robert Young, 1862). Hyper-literal preservation of Hebrew and Greek grammar; useful for word-study work even where English reads stiff.
See Bibles for the full per-translation history, translators, textual basis, strengths, and weaknesses.