Amos 1:11

Linguistic Bible Translation from Source Texts

Thus says the LORD: 'For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and suppressed compassion. His anger tore continually, and his wrath remained forever.'

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה עַל־שְׁלֹשָׁה֙ פִּשְׁעֵ֣י אֱד֔וֹם וְעַל־אַרְבָּעָ֖ה לֹ֣א אֲשִׁיבֶ֑נּוּ עַל־רָדְפ֨וֹ בַחֶ֤רֶב אָחִיו֙ וְשִׁחֵ֣ת רַחֲמָ֔יו וַיִּטְרֹ֤ף לָעַד֙ אַפּ֔וֹ וְעֶבְרָת֖וֹ שְׁמָ֥רָה נֶֽצַח׃

Transliteration

Thus ʾāmar YHWH for-šəlōšāh pišʿê ʾĕdôm and-for-ʾarbāʿāh not ʾăšîbenû for-rādpô with-ḥereb ʾāḥîw and-šiḥēt raḥămāyw and-yiṭrōp forever ʾappô and-ʿebrātô šəmārāh neṣaḥ

Grammar Details

• *ʾāmar*: perfect, 3rd masculine singular - said/has said
• *YHWH*: proper name - LORD/Yahweh
• *šəlōšāh*: cardinal number, masculine - three
• *pišʿê*: construct state, masculine plural - transgressions of
• *ʾĕdôm*: proper name - Edom
• *ʾarbāʿāh*: cardinal number, masculine - four
• *ʾăšîbenû*: imperfect, 1st singular with 3rd masculine singular suffix - I will restore/turn back it
• *rādpô*: infinitive construct with 3rd masculine singular suffix - his pursuing
• *ḥereb*: feminine singular noun - sword
• *ʾāḥîw*: masculine singular noun with 3rd masculine singular suffix - his brother
• *šiḥēt*: perfect, 3rd masculine singular - he destroyed
• *raḥămāyw*: masculine plural noun with 3rd masculine singular suffix - his compassions
• *yiṭrōp*: imperfect, 3rd masculine singular - he tears/rends
• *ʾappô*: masculine singular noun with 3rd masculine singular suffix - his anger
• *ʿebrātô*: feminine singular noun with 3rd masculine singular suffix - his fury
• *šəmārāh*: perfect, 3rd feminine singular - she kept
• *neṣaḥ*: masculine singular noun - perpetuity/forever

Word Meanings

• *pišʿê*: transgressions/rebellions/crimes
• *ʾăšîbenû*: I will not revoke/turn back/restore the punishment
• *rādpô*: his pursuing/chasing/persecuting
• *šiḥēt* *raḥămāyw*: he destroyed his compassions/stifled his mercy/suppressed his pity
• *yiṭrōp*: he tears/rends/ravages
• *ʾappô*: his anger/wrath/nose
• *ʿebrātô*: his fury/rage/wrath
• *šəmārāh* *neṣaḥ*: kept forever/maintained perpetually/preserved eternally

Other Translations

• King James Version 1769 (Standard Version)

  Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:

• KJV1611 – Modern English

  Thus says the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever:

• King James Version 1611 (Original)

  Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:

• American Standard Version with Strong's Numbers

  Thus saith{H559} Jehovah:{H3068} For three{H7969} transgressions{H6588} of Edom,{H123} yea, for four,{H702} I will not turn away{H7725} the punishment thereof; because he did pursue{H7291} his brother{H251} with the sword,{H2719} and did cast off{H7843} all pity,{H7356} and his anger{H639} did tear{H2963} perpetually,{H5703} and he kept{H8104} his wrath{H5678} for ever:{H5331}

• King James Version with Strong's Numbers

  Thus saith{H559}{(H8804)} the LORD{H3068}; For three{H7969} transgressions{H6588} of Edom{H123}, and for four{H702}, I will not turn away{H7725}{(H8686)} the punishment thereof; because he did pursue{H7291}{(H8800)} his brother{H251} with the sword{H2719}, and did cast off{H7843}{(H8765)} all pity{H7356}, and his anger{H639} did tear{H2963}{(H8799)} perpetually{H5703}, and he kept{H8104}{(H8804)} his wrath{H5678} for ever{H5331}:

• Coverdale Bible (1535)

  Thus sayeth the LORDE: For thre and foure wickednesses of Edom I wil not spare him, because he persecuted his brother with the swerde, destroyed his mothers wombe, bare hatred very longe, and so kepte indignacion allwaye by him.

• Geneva Bible (1560)

  Thus sayeth the Lord, For three transgressions of Edom, and for foure, I will not turne to it, because hee did pursue his brother with the sworde, and did cast off all pitie, and his anger spoyled him euermore, and his wrath watched him alway.

• Bishops' Bible (1568)

  Thus sayth the Lord, For three wickednesses of Edom, and for foure I wil not spare him: because he pursued his brother with the sworde, and did cast of al pitie, and in his anger spoyled him continually, and his indignation he kept alwayes.

• Authorized King James Version (1611)

  Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn away [the punishment] thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:

• Webster's Bible (1833)

  Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Edom, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; Because he pursued his brother with the sword, And cast off all pity, And his anger raged continually, And he kept his wrath forever;

• Young's Literal Translation (1862/1898)

  Thus said Jehovah: For three transgressions of Edom, And for four, I do not reverse it, Because of his pursuing with a sword his brother, And he hath destroyed his mercies, And tear perpetually doth his anger, And his wrath -- he hath kept it for ever,

• American Standard Version (1901)

  Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Edom, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:

• American Standard Version (1901)

  Thus saith Jehovah: For three transgressions of Edom, yea, for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and did cast off all pity, and his anger did tear perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever:

• Bible in Basic English (1941)

  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.

• World English Bible (2000)

  Thus says Yahweh: "For three transgressions of Edom, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all pity, and his anger raged continually, and he kept his wrath forever;

• NET Bible® (New English Translation)

  This is what the LORD says:“Because Edom has committed three crimes– make that four!– I will not revoke my decree of judgment. He chased his brother with a sword; he wiped out his allies. In his anger he tore them apart without stopping to rest; in his fury he relentlessly attacked them.

Referenced Verses

• Num 20:14-21 : 14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: "This is what your brother Israel says: You know about all the hardship that has come upon us. 15 Our ancestors went down to Egypt, and we lived there for a long time. But the Egyptians mistreated us and our ancestors. 16 When we cried out to the LORD, he heard our voice, sent an angel, and brought us out of Egypt. Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. 17 Please let us pass through your land. We will not pass through any field or vineyard, nor will we drink water from any well. We will travel along the King's Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory. 18 But Edom answered, "You shall not pass through my land, or I will come out against you with the sword." 19 The Israelites replied, "We will travel along the highway, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only ask to pass through on foot." 20 But Edom insisted, "You may not pass through." And Edom came out against them with a large, strong force. 21 Since Edom refused to let Israel pass through its territory, Israel turned away from them.
• 2 Chr 28:17 : 17 The Edomites had come again and attacked Judah, taking captives.
• Jer 49:7-9 : 7 Concerning Edom, this is what the LORD of Hosts says: Is there no longer wisdom in Teman? Has counsel perished from the prudent? Has their wisdom become corrupted? 8 Flee! Turn back! Hide deep in the caves, O inhabitants of Dedan, for I will bring calamity upon Esau at the time of my punishment. 9 If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave a few gleanings? If thieves came by night, would they not steal only what they needed? 10 But I have stripped Esau bare; I have uncovered his hiding places, and he cannot hide. His descendants, brothers, and neighbors are destroyed, and he is no more. 11 Leave your orphans; I will preserve their lives. Let your widows trust in me. 12 For this is what the LORD says: If those who do not deserve to drink the cup must drink it, should you go unpunished? You will not go unpunished, but you must certainly drink it. 13 For by myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, that Bozrah will become a horror, a disgrace, a waste, and a curse. All her cities will become perpetual ruins. 14 I have heard a message from the LORD, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: 'Assemble yourselves and come against her; rise up for battle.' 15 Look, I have made you small among the nations, despised among mankind. 16 The terror you inspire and the pride of your heart have deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, holding the heights of the hill. Though you build your nest as high as the eagle, from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD. 17 Edom will become a desolation; everyone who passes by her will be appalled and hiss because of all her wounds. 18 As with the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and their neighboring towns, says the LORD, no one will live there; no human being will stay in it. 19 Look, like a lion coming up from the thickets of the Jordan to a permanent pasture, I will suddenly chase Edom from its land, and I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For who is like me, and who can summon me? What shepherd can stand before me? 20 Therefore, hear the counsel of the LORD that he has planned against Edom, and his purposes that he has devised against the inhabitants of Teman: Surely the little ones of the flock will be dragged away; he will make their pasture desolate because of them. 21 At the sound of their downfall, the earth will tremble; their cry will be heard at the Red Sea. 22 Behold, an eagle will come up and swoop down, spreading its wings over Bozrah. On that day, the hearts of Edom's warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
• Ezek 25:12-14 : 12 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Because Edom acted in revenge against the house of Judah and committed great guilt by taking vengeance on them, 13 Therefore this is what the Sovereign LORD says: I will stretch out my hand against Edom and cut off both man and beast from it. I will make it a wasteland from Teman to Dedan, and they will fall by the sword. 14 I will take my vengeance on Edom by the hand of my people Israel, and they will deal with Edom according to my anger and my wrath. Then they will know my vengeance, declares the Sovereign LORD.
• Ezek 35:1-9 : 1 The word of the LORD came to me, saying: 2 Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir and prophesy against it. 3 Say to it, 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you and make you a desolate wasteland.' 4 I will turn your cities into ruins, and you will become desolate. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 5 Because you have harbored eternal hostility and delivered the Israelites to the sword at the time of their calamity, at the time of their final punishment, 6 therefore, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I will make you a land of bloodshed, and bloodshed will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 7 I will turn Mount Seir into a desolate waste and cut off from it all who come and go. 8 I will fill your mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills, in your valleys, and in all your ravines. 9 I will make you a perpetual desolation, and your cities will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD. 10 Because you said, 'These two nations and countries will be ours, and we will take possession of them,' even though the LORD was there, 11 therefore, as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I will deal with you according to the anger and jealousy you showed in your hatred against them, and I will make myself known among them when I judge you. 12 Then you will know that I, the LORD, have heard all the contemptuous things you said against the mountains of Israel. You said, 'They have been laid waste and given over to us to devour.' 13 You boasted against me with your mouth and multiplied your words against me. I have heard it. 14 This is what the Sovereign LORD says: While the whole earth rejoices, I will make you desolate. 15 As you rejoiced over the inheritance of the house of Israel when it became desolate, so will I deal with you. You will become a desolation, Mount Seir, along with all of Edom—all of it. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
• Mal 1:4 : 4 Though Edom may say, 'We have been destroyed, but we will rebuild the ruins,' this is what the LORD of Hosts says: They may rebuild, but I will tear it down. They will be called 'The Wicked Land,' and 'The people the LORD is angry with forever.'
• Joel 3:19 : 19 Egypt will become a desolate wasteland, and Edom a desert wilderness, because of the violence done to the people of Judah, in whose land they shed innocent blood.
• Obad 1:1-9 : 1 This is the vision of Obadiah: This is what the Lord GOD says concerning Edom—We have heard a message from the LORD, and a messenger has been sent among the nations: "Rise up, and let us rise against her for battle." 2 Behold, I have made you small among the nations; you are utterly despised. 3 The pride of your heart has deceived you, you who dwell in the clefts of the rock, whose habitation is high; you say in your heart, "Who will bring me down to the ground?" 4 Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, even from there I will bring you down, declares the LORD. 5 If thieves came to you, if robbers came by night—oh, how you would be ruined!—would they not steal only enough for themselves? If grape gatherers came to you, would they not leave some gleanings? 6 How Esau has been pillaged; his hidden treasures sought out! 7 All your allies have driven you to your border; those at peace with you have deceived you; they have prevailed against you. Those who eat your bread have set a trap under you—there is no understanding in him. 8 Will I not, on that day, declares the LORD, destroy the wise men from Edom and understanding from the mountain of Esau? 9 Your warriors, O Teman, will be terrified, so that everyone from the mountain of Esau will be cut off by slaughter. 10 Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob, shame will cover you, and you will be cut off forever. 11 On the day you stood aloof, on the day strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, you were like one of them. 12 But do not gloat over your brother on the day of his calamity; do not rejoice over the people of Judah on the day of their destruction; and do not boastfully speak on the day of distress. 13 Do not enter the gate of my people on the day of their disaster; do not gloat over their calamity on the day of their disaster; and do not reach out your hand to their wealth on the day of their disaster. 14 Do not stand at the crossroads to cut off their fugitives, and do not hand over their survivors on the day of distress.
• Mic 7:18 : 18 Who is a God like You, forgiving iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in steadfast love.
• Mal 1:2 : 2 I have loved you, says the LORD. But you ask, 'How have you loved us?' Wasn't Esau Jacob's brother? declares the LORD. Yet I have loved Jacob,
• Isa 57:16 : 16 I will not accuse forever, nor will I always be angry, for then the spirit would faint before me—the breath of life that I created.
• Isa 63:1-7 : 1 Who is this coming from Edom, with garments stained red from Bozrah? This one, splendid in his clothing, striding forward in the greatness of his strength. "It is I, proclaiming righteousness, mighty to save." 2 Why are your clothes red, and your garments like those of someone who treads in a winepress? 3 "I have trodden the winepress alone, and from the nations, no one was with me. I trampled them in my anger and crushed them in my wrath; their lifeblood splattered my garments, and I stained all my clothing." 4 For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and the year of my redemption had come. 5 I looked, but there was no one to help; I was appalled that no one gave support. So my own arm brought me salvation, and my wrath sustained me. 6 I trampled the nations in my anger; in my wrath, I made them drunk and poured their lifeblood onto the ground. 7 I will recount the LORD's kindnesses, the praises of the LORD, according to all the LORD has done for us—yes, the great goodness to the house of Israel, which he has granted them according to his compassion and the abundance of his steadfast love.
• Ps 137:7 : 7 Remember, O LORD, against the sons of Edom the day of Jerusalem, when they said, 'Tear it down! Tear it down to its very foundations!'
• Eccl 7:9 : 9 Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.
• Isa 21:11-12 : 11 This is a prophecy concerning Dumah: Someone is calling to me from Seir, saying, 'Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, how much of the night has passed?' 12 The watchman replies, 'Morning is coming, but also the night. If you want to inquire, inquire. Come back again.'
• Isa 34:1-9 : 1 Come near, O nations, to listen; and pay attention, O peoples! Let the earth hear, and all that fills it, the world and all its inhabitants. 2 For the Lord is angry with all nations, and His wrath is against all their armies. He has utterly destroyed them, He has handed them over to slaughter. 3 Their slain will be thrown out, and the stench of their corpses will rise; the mountains will be dissolved with their blood. 4 All the stars of the heavens will rot away, and the skies will be rolled up like a scroll. All their armies will wither, as a leaf withers on the vine or a fig shrivels and falls from the fig tree. 5 For My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens. Behold, it will descend upon Edom, upon the people of My judgment, to bring justice. 6 The sword of the Lord is filled with blood; it is fat with the fat of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah, a great slaughter in the land of Edom. 7 And wild oxen will fall with them, and young bulls with strong ones. Their land will drink its fill of blood, and their soil will be enriched with fat. 8 For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, the year of recompense for the cause of Zion. 9 And its streams will be turned to pitch, its soil to sulfur; its land will become burning pitch. 10 It will not be quenched night or day; its smoke will rise forever. From generation to generation, it will lie desolate; no one will ever pass through it again. 11 The pelican and the hedgehog will possess it, the owl and the raven will dwell there. He will stretch over it a measuring line of chaos and stones of emptiness. 12 Its nobles will have no one there to call them a kingdom, and all its princes will come to nothing. 13 Thorns will grow in its palaces, nettles and brambles in its fortresses. It will become a dwelling place for jackals, a home for ostriches. 14 Wild beasts will meet with hyenas, and satyrs will call to one another. There, the night creature will settle and find her place of rest. 15 There, the arrow snake will make her nest, lay eggs, hatch them, and care for her young in her shadow. Indeed, there the kites will gather, each one with its mate. 16 Search and consult the book of the Lord, and read: Not one of these will be missing; none will lack its mate. For His mouth has commanded it, and His Spirit has gathered them together. 17 He has cast the lot for them, and His hand has divided it among them with the measuring line. They will possess it forever; from generation to generation, they will dwell there.
• Ps 83:3-8 : 3 For behold, your enemies are in an uproar; those who hate you have lifted up their heads in rebellion. 4 They devise cunning plans against your people and conspire together against your treasured ones. 5 They say, 'Come, let us destroy them as a nation, so that the name of Israel may no longer be remembered.' 6 For they have consulted together with one mind; they have made a covenant against you. 7 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagrites, 8 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.
• Ps 85:5 : 5 Restore us again, O God of our salvation, and put away your anger toward us.
• Deut 2:4-8 : 4 And he commanded the people, saying, ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful. 5 Do not provoke them to conflict, for I will not give you even a footstep of their land, because I have given Mount Seir as a possession to Esau.' 6 You are to purchase food from them with silver and eat it, and buy water from them with silver and drink it. 7 The LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing. 8 So we passed by our relatives, the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir, and we turned from the road through the Arabah, bypassing Elath and Ezion-geber. Then we moved on and journeyed along the wilderness road of Moab.
• Deut 23:7 : 7 You shall never pursue their peace or prosperity as long as you live.
• Lam 4:21-22 : 21 Rejoice and be glad, O daughter of Edom, you who dwell in the land of Uz! But to you also the cup will pass; you will become drunk and strip yourself naked. 22 The punishment of your iniquity, O daughter of Zion, is accomplished; He will keep you in exile no longer. But He will punish your iniquity, O daughter of Edom; He will expose your sins.
• Eph 4:26-27 : 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and do not give the devil an opportunity.
• Eph 5:1 : 1 Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children.
• Gen 27:40-41 : 40 You will live by the sword and serve your brother. But when you grow restless, you will throw his yoke from off your neck. 41 Esau held a grudge against Jacob because of the blessing his father had given him. He said to himself, 'The days of mourning for my father are near; then I will kill my brother Jacob.'