Amos 2:1

Bible in Basic English (1941)

These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Moab, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because he had the bones of the king of Edom burned to dust.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה עַל־שְׁלֹשָׁה֙ פִּשְׁעֵ֣י מוֹאָ֔ב וְעַל־אַרְבָּעָ֖ה לֹ֣א אֲשִׁיבֶ֑נּוּ עַל־שָׂרְפ֛וֹ עַצְמ֥וֹת מֶֽלֶךְ־אֱד֖וֹם לַשִּֽׂיד׃

Transliteration

kōh ʾāmar YHWH upon-šəlōšāh pišʿê môʾāb wə-upon-ʾarbāʿāh lōʾ ʾăšîbennû upon-śārəpô ʿaṣəmôt melek-ʾĕdôm laśśîd

Grammar Details

• *kōh*: adverb - thus/so
• *ʾāmar*: perfect, 3rd masculine singular - said/speaks
• *YHWH*: divine name - Yahweh/LORD
• *šəlōšāh*: cardinal number, masculine - three
• *pišʿê*: construct masculine plural of *pešaʿ* - transgressions/rebellions of
• *môʾāb*: proper noun - Moab
• *wə*: conjunction - and
• *ʾarbāʿāh*: cardinal number, masculine - four
• *lōʾ*: negative particle - not
• *ʾăšîbennû*: hiphil imperfect 1st singular with 3rd masculine singular suffix - I will not turn it back/revoke it
• *śārəpô*: infinitive construct with 3rd masculine singular suffix - his burning
• *ʿaṣəmôt*: feminine plural construct - bones of
• *melek*: masculine singular construct - king of
• *ʾĕdôm*: proper noun - Edom
• *laśśîd*: preposition + definite article + noun - to the lime/ash

Word Meanings

• *pišʿê*: transgressions/rebellions/crimes
• *ʾăšîbennû*: I will not turn it back/revoke it/reverse it
• *śārəpô*: his burning/calcining
• *laśśîd*: to lime/to ash/to dust/to calcium oxide (material used in plaster)

Referenced Verses

• Zeph 2:8-9 : 8 My ears have been open to the bitter words of Moab and the words of shame of the children of Ammon, which they have said against my people, lifting themselves up against the limit of their land. 9 For this cause, by my life, says the Lord of armies, the God of Israel, truly Moab will become like Sodom and the children of Ammon like Gomorrah, given up to waste plants and salt pools and unpeopled for ever: the rest of my people will take their property, the overflow of my nation will take their heritage.
• Jer 48:1-9 : 1 Of Moab. The Lord of armies, the God of Israel, has said: Sorrow on Nebo, for it has been made waste; Kiriathaim has been put to shame and is taken: the strong place is put to shame and broken down. 2 The praise of Moab has come to an end; as for Heshbon, evil has been designed against her; come, let us put an end to her as a nation. But your mouth will be shut, O Madmen; the sword will go after you. 3 There is the sound of crying from Horonaim, wasting and great destruction; 4 Moab is broken; her cry has gone out to Zoar. 5 For by the slope of Luhith they will go up, weeping all the way; for on the way down to Horonaim the cry of destruction has come to their ears. 6 Go in flight, get away with your lives, and let your faces be turned to Aroer in the Arabah. 7 For because you have put your faith in your strong places, you, even you, will be taken: and Chemosh will go out as a prisoner, his priests and his rulers together. 8 And the attacker will come against every town, not one will be safe; and the valley will be made waste, and destruction will come to the lowland, as the Lord has said. 9 Put up a pillar for Moab, for she will come to a complete end: and her towns will become a waste, without anyone living in them. 10 Let him be cursed who does the Lord's work half-heartedly; let him be cursed who keeps back his sword from blood. 11 From his earliest days, Moab has been living in comfort; like wine long stored he has not been drained from vessel to vessel, he has never gone away as a prisoner: so his taste is still in him, his smell is unchanged. 12 So truly, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will send to him men who will have him turned over till there is no more wine in his vessels, and his wine-skins will be completely broken. 13 And Moab will be shamed on account of Chemosh, as the children of Israel were shamed on account of Beth-el their hope. 14 How say you, We are men of war and strong fighters? 15 He who makes Moab waste has gone up against her; and the best of her young men have gone down to their death, says the King, whose name is the Lord of armies. 16 The fate of Moab is near, and trouble is coming on him very quickly. 17 All you who are round about him, give signs of grief for him, and all you who have knowledge of his name, say, How is the strong rod broken, even the beautiful branch! 18 Come down from your glory, O people of Dibon, and take your seat in the place of the waste; for the attacker of Moab has gone up against you, sending destruction on your strong places. 19 O daughter of Aroer, take your station by the way, on the watch: questioning him who is in flight, and her who has got away safe, say, What has been done? 20 Moab has been put to shame, she is broken: make loud sounds of grief, crying out for help; give the news in Arnon, that Moab has been made waste. 21 And punishment has come on the lowlands; on Holon and Jahzah, and on Mephaath, 22 And on Dibon, and on Nebo, and on Beth-diblathaim, 23 And on Kiriathaim, and on Beth-gamul, and on Beth-meon, 24 And on Kerioth, and on Bozrah, and on all the towns of the land of Moab, far and near. 25 The horn of Moab is cut off, and his arm is broken, says the Lord. 26 Make him full of wine, for his heart has been lifted up against the Lord: and Moab will be rolling in the food he was not able to keep down, and everyone will be making sport of him. 27 For did you not make sport of Israel? was he taken among thieves? for whenever you were talking about him, you were shaking your head over him. 28 O people of Moab, go away from the towns and take cover in the rock; be like the dove of the Arabah, which makes her living-place in holes. 29 We have had word of the pride of Moab, how great it is; how he is lifted up in pride; and his great opinion of himself, and that his heart is lifted up. 30 I have knowledge of his wrath, says the Lord, that it is nothing; his high-sounding words have done nothing. 31 For this cause I will give cries of grief for Moab, crying out for Moab, even for all of it; I will be sorrowing for the men of Kir-heres. 32 My weeping for you, O vine of Sibmah, will be more than the weeping of Jazer: your branches have gone over the sea, stretching even to Jazer: destruction has come down on your summer fruits and your cut grapes. 33 All joy is gone; no longer are they glad for the fertile field and for the land of Moab; I have made the wine come to an end from the crushing vessels: no longer will the grapes be crushed with the sound of glad voices. 34 The cry of Heshbon comes even to Elealeh; to Jahaz their voice is sounding; from Zoar even to Horonaim and to Eglath-shelishiyah: for the waters of Nimrim will become dry. 35 And I will put an end in Moab, says the Lord, to him who is making offerings in the high place and burning perfumes to his gods. 36 So my heart is sounding for Moab like the sound of pipes, and my heart is sounding like pipes for the men of Kir-heres: for the wealth he has got for himself has come to an end. 37 For everywhere the hair of the head and the hair of the face is cut off: on every hand there are wounds, and haircloth on every body. 38 On all the house-tops of Moab and in its streets there is weeping everywhere; for Moab has been broken like a vessel in which there is no pleasure, says the Lord. 39 How is it broken down! how is Moab's back turned in shame! so Moab will be a cause of sport and of fear to everyone round about him. 40 For the Lord has said, See, he will come like an eagle in flight, stretching out his wings against Moab. 41 Kerioth is taken, and the strong places have been forced, and the hearts of Moab's men of war in that day will be like the heart of a woman in birth-pains. 42 And Moab will come to an end as a people, because he has been lifting himself up against the Lord. 43 Fear and death and the net have come on you, O people of Moab, says the Lord. 44 He who goes in flight from the fear will be overtaken by death; and he who gets free from death will be taken in the net: for I will make this come on Moab, even the year of their punishment, says the Lord. 45 Those who went in flight from the fear are waiting under the shade of Heshbon: for a fire has gone out from Heshbon and a flame from the house of Sihon, burning up the pride of Moab and the crown of the head of the violent ones. 46 Sorrow is yours, O Moab! the people of Chemosh are overcome: for your sons have been taken away as prisoners, and your daughters made servants. 47 But still, I will let the fate of Moab be changed in the last days, says the Lord.
• Ezek 25:8-9 : 8 This is what the Lord has said: Because Moab and Seir are saying, See, the people of Judah are like all the nations; 9 For this cause, I will let the side of Moab be uncovered, and his towns on every side, the glory of the land, Beth-jeshimoth, Baal-meon and as far as Kiriathaim.
• Isa 15:1-9 : 1 The word about Moab. For in a night Ar of Moab has become waste, and is seen no longer; for in a night Kir of Moab has become waste, and is seen no longer. 2 The daughter of Dibon has gone up to the high places, weeping: Moab is sounding her cry of sorrow over Nebo, and over Medeba: everywhere the hair of the head and of the face is cut off. 3 In their streets they are covering themselves with haircloth: on the tops of their houses, and in their public places, there is crying and bitter weeping. 4 Heshbon is crying out, and Elealeh; their voice is sounding even to Jahaz: for this cause the heart of Moab is shaking; his soul is shaking with fear. 5 My heart is crying out for Moab; her people go in flight to Zoar, and to Eglath-shelishiyah: for they go up with weeping by the slope of Luhith; on the way to Horonaim they send up a cry of destruction. 6 The waters of Nimrim will become dry: for the grass is burned up, the young grass is coming to an end, every green thing is dead. 7 For this cause they will take away their wealth, and the stores they have got together, over the stream of the water-plants. 8 For the cry has gone round the limits of Moab; as far as to Eglaim and Beer-elim. 9 For the waters of Dimon are full of blood: and I'm sending even more on Moab, a lion on those of Moab who go in flight, and on the rest of the land.
• Isa 25:10 : 10 For in this mountain will the hand of the Lord come to rest, and Moab will be crushed down in his place, even as the dry stems of the grain are crushed under foot in the waste place.
• 2 Kgs 3:26-27 : 26 And when the king of Moab saw that the fight was going against him, he took with him seven hundred men armed with swords, with the idea of forcing a way through to the king of Aram, but they were not able to do so. 27 Then he took his oldest son, who would have been king after him, offering him as a burned offering on the wall. So there was great wrath against Israel; and they went away from him, back to their country.
• Amos 1:3 : 3 These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Damascus, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because they have been crushing Gilead with iron grain-crushing instruments.
• Amos 2:4 : 4 These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Judah, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because they have given up the law of the Lord, and have not kept his rules; and their false ways, in which their fathers went, have made them go out of the right way.
• Amos 2:6 : 6 These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Israel, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because they have given the upright man for silver, and the poor for the price of two shoes;
• Mic 6:5 : 5 O my people, keep in mind now what was designed by Balak, king of Moab, and the answer which Balaam, son of Beor, gave him; the events, from Shittim to Gilgal, so that you may be certain of the upright acts of the Lord.
• Amos 1:6 : 6 These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Gaza, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because they took all the people away prisoners, to give them up to Edom.
• Amos 1:9 : 9 These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Tyre, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because they gave up all the people prisoners to Edom, without giving a thought to the brothers' agreement between them.
• Amos 1:11 : 11 These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of Edom, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because his sword was turned against his brother, without pity, and his wrath was burning at all times, and he was angry for ever.
• Amos 1:13 : 13 These are the words of the Lord: For three crimes of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not let its fate be changed; because in Gilead they had women with child cut open, so that they might make wider the limits of their land.
• Ps 83:4-7 : 4 They have said, Come, let us put an end to them as a nation; so that the name of Israel may go out of man's memory. 5 For they have all come to an agreement; they are all joined together against you: 6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab and the Hagarites; 7 Gebal and Ammon and Amalek; the Philistines and the people of Tyre;
• Prov 15:3 : 3 The eyes of the Lord are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good.
• Isa 11:14 : 14 And they will be united in attacking the Philistines on the west, and together they will take the goods of the children of the east: their hand will be on Edom and Moab; and the children of Ammon will be under their rule.
• Num 22:1-9 : 1 Then the children of Israel, journeying on, put up their tents in the lowlands of Moab, on the other side of Jordan at Jericho. 2 Now Balak, the son of Zippor, saw what Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And in Moab there was great fear of the people, because their numbers were so great: and the feeling of Moab was bitter against the children of Israel. 4 Then Moab said to the responsible men of Midian, It is clear that this great people will be the destruction of everything round us, making a meal of us as the ox does of the grass of the field. At that time Balak, the son of Zippor, was king of Moab. 5 So he sent men to Balaam, son of Beor, at Pethor by the River in the land of the children of his people, saying to him, See, a people has come out of Egypt, covering all the face of the earth, and they have put up their tents opposite to me: 6 Come now, in answer to my prayer, and put a curse on this people, for they are greater than I: and then I may be strong enough to overcome them and send them out of the land: for it is clear that good comes to him who has your blessing, but he on whom you put your curse is cursed. 7 So the responsible men of Moab and Midian went away, taking in their hands rewards for the prophet; and they came to Balaam and said to him what Balak had given them orders to say. 8 And he said to them, Take your rest here tonight, and I will give you an answer after hearing what the Lord says; so the chiefs of Moab kept there with Balaam that night. 9 And God came to Balaam and said, Who are these men with you? 10 And Balaam said to God, Balak, the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent them to me, saying, 11 See, the people who have come out of Egypt are covering all the earth: now, put a curse on this people for me, so that I may be able to make war on them, driving them out of the land. 12 And God said to Balaam, You are not to go with them, or put a curse on this people, for they have my blessing. 13 In the morning Balaam got up and said to the chiefs of Balak, Go back to your land, for the Lord will not let me go with you. 14 So the chiefs of Moab went back to Balak and said, Balaam will not come with us. 15 So Balak sent more chiefs, greater in number and of higher position than the others. 16 And they came to Balaam and said, Balak, son of Zippor, says, Let nothing keep you from coming to me: 17 For I will give you a place of very great honour, and whatever you say to me I will do; so come, in answer to my prayer, and put a curse on this people. 18 But Balaam, in answer; said to the servants of Balak, Even if Balak gave me his house full of silver and gold, it would not be possible for me to do anything more or less than the orders of the Lord my God. 19 So take your rest here this night, till I have knowledge what more the Lord has to say to me. 20 And that night God came to Balaam and said to him, If these men have come for you, go with them: but do only what I say to you. 21 So in the morning Balaam got up and, making his ass ready, went with the chiefs of Moab. 22 But God was moved to wrath because he went: and the angel of the Lord took up a position in the road to keep him from his purpose. Now he was seated on his ass, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord waiting in the road with his sword in his hand; and turning from the road, the ass went into the field; and Balaam gave the ass blows, to get her back on to the road. 24 Then the angel of the Lord took up his position in a narrow road through the vine-gardens, with a wall on this side and on that. 25 And the ass saw the angel of the Lord, and went near the wall, crushing Balaam's foot against the wall; and he gave her more blows.
• Deut 23:4-5 : 4 Because they gave you no bread or water on your way, when you came out of Egypt: and they got Balaam, the son of Peor, from Pethor in Aram-naharaim to put curses on you. 5 But the Lord your God would not give ear to Balaam, but let the curse be changed into a blessing to you, because of his love for you.
• 2 Kgs 3:9 : 9 So the king of Israel went with the king of Judah and the king of Edom by a roundabout way for seven days: and there was no water for the army or for the beasts they had with them.