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Amos

About this book
Chapter 2

1 This is what the Lord says: “Because Moab has committed three crimes—make that four—I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They burned the bones of Edom’s king into lime. 2 So I will set Moab on fire, and it will consume Kerioth’s fortresses. Moab will perish in the heat of battle amid war cries and the blaring of the ram’s horn. 3 I will remove Moab’s leader; I will kill all Moab’s officials with him.” The Lord has spoken! 4 This is what the Lord says: “Because Judah has committed three covenant transgressions—make that four—I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They rejected the Lord’s law; they did not obey his commands. Their false gods, to which their fathers were loyal, led them astray. 5 So I will set Judah on fire, and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.” 6 This is what the Lord says: “Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions—make that four—I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold the innocent for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals.⁠ 7 They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; they push the destitute away. A man and his father go to the same girl; in this way they show disrespect for my moral purity.⁠ 8 They stretch out on clothing seized as collateral;⁠ they do so right beside every altar!⁠ They drink wine bought with the fines they have levied; they do so right in the temple of their God!⁠ 9 For Israel’s sake I destroyed the Amorites. They were as tall as cedars and as strong as oaks,⁠ but I destroyed the fruit on their branches and their roots in the ground. 10 I brought you up from the land of Egypt; I led you through the wilderness for 40 years so you could take the Amorites’ land as your own. 11 I made some of your sons prophets and some of your young men Nazirites. Is this not true, you Israelites?” The Lord is speaking. 12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine;⁠ you commanded the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy!’ 13 Look! I will press you down, like a cart loaded down with grain presses down. 14 Fast runners will find no place to hide; strong men will have no strength left; warriors will not be able to save their lives. 15 Archers will not hold their ground; fast runners will not save their lives, nor will those who ride horses. 16 Bravehearted warriors will run away naked⁠ in that day.” The Lord is speaking.

Texts in conversation

Compare Ezekiel 16:48 and Amos 2:6

Hebrew Bible

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Summary

Amos accuses Israel of selling the innocent for silver and stepping on the poor, presenting social injustice as a sign of covenant violation. Ezekiel 16 contributes to this by including violence against the poor among the charges leading to judgment.

Passages

Ezekiel 16:48

Hebrew Bible
47 Have you not copied their behavior and practiced their abominable deeds? In a short time you became even more depraved in all your conduct than they were! 48 As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, your sister Sodom and her daughters never behaved as wickedly as you and your daughters have behaved. 49 “‘See here—this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters had majesty, abundance of food, and enjoyed carefree ease, but they did not help the poor and needy. 50 They were haughty and practiced abominable deeds before me. Therefore, when I saw it I removed them.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Ezekiel

Amos 2:6

Hebrew Bible
5 So I will set Judah on fire, and it will consume Jerusalem’s fortresses.” 6 This is what the Lord says: “Because Israel has committed three covenant transgressions—make that four—I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They sold the innocent for silver, the needy for a pair of sandals. 7 They trample on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; they push the destitute away. A man and his father go to the same girl; in this way they show disrespect for my moral purity.
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in Amos

References

"... The early eighth-century prophets became the earliest prophet's spokesmen on behalf of the poor. Their critique against the social abuse of their society was grounded theologically in God’s covenant with Israel, his act of election. This covenant had called for faith obedience, as expressed in the Torah. But Israel had become indifferent and unfaithful to the covenant, and this unfaithfulness was most clearly evident to the prophets in the trampling upon the poor and neglect of the needy (Pilgrim 1981:25). The citing evidence against the poor is long and all too familiar-unjust courts (Amos 5:12; Isaiah 10:1-2; Jeremiah 5:28) fraudulent trade (Amos 8:4-5), unfair taxation (Amos 5:11-12), theft of land (Micah 2:1-3), violence against the poor (Ezekiel 16:48), wasteful affluence amid poverty (Amos 4:1, 6:4f), selling debtors into slavery (Amos 2:6; 8:6), and even suffocating tithes. These prophets all agree that social injustices are most indicative of a falling away from the covenant God. They are all certain that God is on the side of the poor ..."
Matholose Paulus Ntshumayelo, Towards A Relevant Ministry Among The Poor: Developing A Comprehensive Strategy For Mission In Informal Settlement Communities With Special Reference To The Orange Farm Community (University of Pretoria, 2005), 62.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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Ezekiel 16:48 and Amos 2:6

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