New English Translation
Amos 1:3
3This is what the Lord says: “Because Damascus has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth.
Amos 1:3 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thus saith the Lord; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron:
- New International Version (NIV)This is what the Lord says: “For three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not relent. Because she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth,
- English Standard Version (ESV)Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have threshed Gilead with implements of iron.
Context of Amos 1:3
1The following is a record of what Amos prophesied. He was one of the herdsmen from Tekoa. These prophecies about Israel were revealed to him during the time of King Uzziah of Judah and King Jeroboam son of Joash of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 2Amos said: “The Lord comes roaring out of Zion; from Jerusalem he comes bellowing! The shepherds’ pastures wilt; the summit of Carmel withers.” This is what the Lord says: “Because Damascus has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They ripped through Gilead like threshing sledges with iron teeth. 4So I will set Hazael’s house on fire; fire will consume Ben Hadad’s fortresses. 5I will break the bar on the gate of Damascus. I will remove the ruler from Wicked Valley, the one who holds the royal scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Aram will be deported to Kir.” The Lord has spoken!
Read all of Amos 1Amos 1:3 word by word
כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה עַל־שְׁלֹשָׁה֙ פִּשְׁעֵ֣י דַמֶּ֔שֶׂק וְעַל־אַרְבָּעָ֖ה לֹ֣א אֲשִׁיבֶ֑נּוּ עַל־דּוּשָׁ֛ם בַּחֲרֻצ֥וֹת הַבַּרְזֶ֖ל אֶת־הַגִּלְעָֽד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thus saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- For threeשָׁלֹשׁshâlôsh shâlôsh shelôshâh shelôshâh · threeH7969
- transgressionsפֶּ֫שַׁעpesha‛ · transgressionH6588
- of Damascusדַּמֶּ֫שֶׂקdammeώeq dûmeώeq darmeώeq · DamascusH1834
- and for fourאַרְבַּע'arba‛ 'arbâ‛âh · fourH702
- I will not turn awayשׁוּבshûb · to return: repentH7725
- thereof; because they have threshedדּוּשׁdûsh dôsh dîysh · to treadH1758
- Gileadגִּלְעָדgil‛âd · GileadH1568
- with threshing instrumentsחָרוּץchârûts chârûts · sharpH2742
- of ironבַּרְזֶלbarzel · ironH1270
Cross-references for Amos 1:3
- Amos 1:6This is what the Lord says: “Because Gaza has committed three crimes – make that four! – I will not revoke my decree of judgment. They deported a whole community and sold them to Edom.
- Amos 2:1This 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.
- Job 5:19He will deliver you from six calamities; yes, in seven no evil will touch you.
- Job 19:3These ten times you have been reproaching me; you are not ashamed to attack me!
- Proverbs 6:16There are six things that the Lord hates, even seven things that are an abomination to him:
- Ecclesiastes 11:2Divide your merchandise among seven or even eight investments, for you do not know what calamity may happen on earth.
- Isaiah 7:8For Syria’s leader is Damascus, and the leader of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will no longer exist as a nation.
- Isaiah 8:4for before the child knows how to cry out, ‘My father’ or ‘My mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
- Isaiah 17:1Here is a message about Damascus: “Look, Damascus is no longer a city, it is a heap of ruins!
- Jeremiah 49:23The Lord spoke about Damascus. “The people of Hamath and Arpad will be dismayed because they have heard bad news. Their courage will melt away because of worry. Their hearts will not be able to rest.
- Zechariah 9:1An oracle of the word of the Lord concerning the land of Hadrach, with its focus on Damascus: The eyes of all humanity, especially of the tribes of Israel, are toward the Lord,
- 1 Kings 19:17Jehu will kill anyone who escapes Hazael’s sword, and Elisha will kill anyone who escapes Jehu’s sword.
- 2 Kings 8:12Hazael asked, “Why are you crying, my master?” He replied, “Because I know the trouble you will cause the Israelites. You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, smash their children to bits, and rip open their pregnant women.”
- 2 Kings 10:32In those days the Lord began to reduce the size of Israel’s territory. Hazael attacked their eastern border.
- 2 Kings 13:3The Lord was furious with Israel and handed them over to King Hazael of Syria and to Hazael’s son Ben Hadad for many years.
- Isaiah 41:15“Look, I am making you like a sharp threshing sledge, new and double-edged. You will thresh the mountains and crush them; you will make the hills like straw.
Commentaries on Amos 1:3
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four - These expressions of three and four, so often repeated in this chapter, mean repetition, abundance, and any thing that goes towards excess. Very, very exceedingly; and so it was used among the ancient Greek and Latin poets. See the passionate exclamation of Ulysses, in the storm, Odyss., lib. v., ver. 306: - , ̔ ' <-144 ͅ ͅ, ͅ . "Thrice happy Greeks! and four times who were slain In Atreus' cause, upon…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3The order of God‘s threatenings seems to have been addressed to gain the hearing of the people. The punishment is first denounced upon their enemies, and that, for their sins, directly or indirectly, against themselves, and God in them. Then, as to those enemies themselves, the order is not of place or time, but of their relation to God‘s people. It begins with their most oppressive enemy, Syria; then Philistia, the old and ceaseless, although less…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3For three transgressions of Damascus, even four: This phrase describes ongoing rebellion against the natural order set by God. The Hebrew phrase does not describe an exact number. Instead, it points to a pattern of repeated wrongdoing. they threshed: Threshing grain was the process of separating the grain heads from their husks. People did this by pulling wooden sledges with sharp edges over the cut grain (Isaiah 41:15; see Micah 4:13). This image helps…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. Here begins a series of threatenings of vengeance against six other states, followed by one against Judah, and ending with one against Israel, with whom the rest of the prophecy is occupied. The eight predictions are in symmetrical stanzas, each prefaced by "Thus saith the Lord." Beginning with the sin of others, which Israel would be ready enough to recognize, he proceeds to bring home to Israel her own guilt. Israel must not think hereafter, because…Read the comment
Topics related to Amos 1:3
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Amos 1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
New English Translation — © 1996-2016 Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C.
Commentaries