Amos 1:3-5

Contemporary English Version

Judgment on Syria

³^(A) The Lord said:

I will punish Syria^[a]
for countless crimes,
    and I won't change my mind.
They dragged logs with spikes^[b]
    over the people of Gilead.
⁴Now I will burn down the palaces
and fortresses of King Hazael
    and of King Benhadad.^[c]
⁵I will break through
    the gates of Damascus.
I will destroy the people^[d]
of Wicked Valley^[e]
    and the ruler of Beth-Eden.^[f]
Then the Syrians will be dragged
    as prisoners to Kir.^[g]
I, the Lord, have spoken!

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Footnotes

1.3 Syria: The Hebrew text has “Damascus,” the leading city of Syria.
1.3 logs with spikes: These were dragged over grain to thresh it.
1.4 Hazael … Benhadad: Two Syrian kings.
1.5 people: Or “king.”
1.5 Wicked Valley: The Hebrew text has “Aven Valley,” probably the fertile valley between the Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon mountains.
1.5 I will … Beth-Eden: Or “I will destroy the people of Wicked Valley and the king who rules from Beth-Eden.” Beth-Eden was a city-state on the banks of the Euphrates River.
1.5 Kir: The exact location of this country is not known; in 9.7 Amos refers to Kir as the original home of the Syrians, and so the verse probably means that the Syrians will lose everything they have gained as a people.