² Amos said,
“The Lord will roar [Joel 3:16] from ·Jerusalem [^LZion; ^Cthe location of the Temple];
    he ·will send his voice [or thunders; bellows; ^Lgives his voice] from Jerusalem.
The pastures of the shepherds will ·become dry [or mourn],
    and even the top of Mount Carmel [9:3] will ·dry up [wither].”

“For ·the many [^Lthree, even four] ·crimes [sins; transgressions] of Damascus,
    I will ·punish them [^Lnot turn back/grant a reprieve].
They ·drove over [beat down; ^Lthreshed] the people of Gilead
    with threshing boards ·that had iron teeth [^Lof iron].
⁴ So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael [^Cthe royal dynasty of Syria (Aram), founded by Hazael (842–796 bc); 2 Kin. 8:7–15]
    that will destroy the strong towers of Ben-Hadad [^Ceither Hazael’s predecessor (whom he assassinated), or Hazael’s son, who took the same name].
⁵ I will break down the bar of the gate to Damascus [^Cthe huge beam used to lock the gate]
    and destroy the ·king who is in [or the inhabitants of; ^Lthe one who sits/dwells in] the Valley of ·Aven [or Wickedness; Hos. 4:15],
as well as the ·leader [^Lone who holds the scepter] of Beth Eden [^Ceither Bit Adini, a city-state near the Euphrates, or a mocking name for Damascus, meaning “city of delight”].
    The people of ·Aram [Syria] will be taken captive to the country of Kir [^Cwhere the Syrians originated (9:7); ironically, they would return there as captives; 2 Kin. 16:9],” says the Lord.

“For ·the many [^Lthree, even four; v. 3] ·crimes [sins; transgressions] of Gaza,
    I will ·punish them [^Lnot turn back/grant a reprieve].
They sold ·all the people of one area [whole communities]
    ·as slaves [into captivity] to Edom.
⁷ So I will send a fire on the walls of Gaza
    that will ·destroy [devour; consume] the city’s ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces].
⁸ I will destroy the ·king [or inhabitants; ^Lthe one who sits; v. 5] of the city of Ashdod,
    as well as the ·leader [^Lone who holds the scepter] of Ashkelon.
Then I will turn [^Lmy hand] against ·the people of the city of Ekron [^LEkron],
    and the ·last [rest; remnant] of the Philistines will ·die [perish],” says the Lord God.

“For ·the many [^Lthree, even four; vv. 3, 6] ·crimes [sins; transgressions] of Tyre,
    I will ·punish them [^Lnot turn back/grant a reprieve].
They sold ·all the people of one area [whole communities]
    ·as slaves to Edom [into captivity],
    and they forgot the ·agreement among relatives they had made with Israel [^Lcovenant/treaty of brotherhood].
¹⁰ So I will send fire on the walls of Tyre
    that will ·destroy [devour; consume] the city’s ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces].”

“For ·the many [^Lthree, even four; vv. 3, 6, 9] ·crimes [sins; transgressions] of Edom,
    I will ·punish them [^Lnot turn back/grant a reprieve].
·They hunted down their relatives, the Israelites, [^LHe pursued his brother; ^CEsau (Edom) was the brother of Jacob/Israel and so the Israelites were related to the Edomites] with the sword,
    ·showing them no mercy [or wiping out their allies; or destroying their women].
·They were angry all the time [His anger raged unceasingly]
    and ·kept on being very angry [^Lhe preserved his wrath forever].
¹² So I will send fire on the city of Teman
    that will even ·destroy [consume; devour] the ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces] of Bozrah [^Cthe whole country; Teman was in northern Edom and Bozrah in the south].”

“For ·the many [^Lthree, even four; vv. 3, 6, 9, 11] ·crimes [sins; transgressions] of Ammon,
    I will ·punish them [^Lnot turn back/grant a reprieve].
They ripped open the pregnant women in Gilead
    ·so they could take over that land
    and make their own country larger [^Lto enlarge their borders].
¹⁴ So I will send fire on the city wall of Rabbah
    that will ·destroy [consume; devour] its ·strong buildings [fortresses; palaces].
·It will come during [^LAmid shouting/war cries on] a day of battle,
    during a stormy day with ·strong winds [a whirlwind].
¹⁵ Then their king will be taken ·captive [into exile];
    he and his ·leaders [officials; princes] will all be taken away together,” says the Lord.