New King James Version
Amos 1:3
3Thus 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.
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 Living Translation (NLT)This is what the Lord says: “The people of Damascus have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They beat down my people in Gilead as grain is threshed with iron sledges.
Context of Amos 1:3
1The words of Amos, who was among the sheepbreeders of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years before the earthquake. 2And he said: “The Lord roars from Zion, And utters His voice from Jerusalem; The pastures of the shepherds mourn, And the top of Carmel withers.” 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. 4But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, Which shall devour the palaces of Ben-Hadad. 5I will also break the gate bar of Damascus, And cut off the inhabitant from the Valley of Aven, And the one who holds the scepter from Beth Eden. The people of Syria shall go captive to Kir,” Says the Lord.
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 1:6Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they took captive the whole captivity To deliver them up to Edom.
- Amos 2:1Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to lime.
- Job 5:19He shall deliver you in six troubles, Yes, in seven no evil shall touch you.
- Job 19:3These ten times you have reproached me; You are not ashamed that you have wronged me.
- Proverbs 6:16These six things the Lord hates, Yes, seven are an abomination to Him:
- Ecclesiastes 11:2Give a serving to seven, and also to eight, For you do not know what evil will be on the earth.
- Isaiah 7:8For the head of Syria is Damascus, And the head of Damascus is Rezin. Within sixty-five years Ephraim will be broken, So that it will not be a people.
- Isaiah 8:4for before the child shall have knowledge to cry ‘My father’ and ‘My mother,’ the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria will be taken away before the king of Assyria.”
- Isaiah 17:1The burden against Damascus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap.
- Jeremiah 49:23Against Damascus. “Hamath and Arpad are shamed, For they have heard bad news. They are fainthearted; There is trouble on the sea; It cannot be quiet.
- Zechariah 9:1The burden of the word of the Lord Against the land of Hadrach, And Damascus its resting place (For the eyes of men And all the tribes of Israel Are on the Lord);
- 1 Kings 19:17It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill.
- 2 Kings 8:12And Hazael said, “Why is my lord weeping?” He answered, “Because I know the evil that you will do to the children of Israel: Their strongholds you will set on fire, and their young men you will kill with the sword; and you will dash their children, and rip open their women with child.”
- 2 Kings 10:32In those days the Lord began to cut off parts of Israel; and Hazael conquered them in all the territory of Israel
- 2 Kings 13:3Then the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel, and He delivered them into the hand of Hazael king of Syria, and into the hand of Ben-Hadad the son of Hazael, all their days.
- Isaiah 41:15“Behold, I will make you into a new threshing sledge with sharp teeth; You shall thresh the mountains and beat them small, And make the hills like chaff.
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 King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries