כֹּה אָמַר ה' עַל־שְׁלֹשָׁה פִּשְׁעֵי מוֹאָב וְעַל־אַרְבָּעָה לֹא אֲשִׁיבֶנּוּ עַל־שָׂרְפוֹ עַצְמוֹת מֶלֶךְ־אֱדוֹם לשִּׂיד

So said the Lord: For three transgressions of Moav I will not dispense punishment, but for the fourth, I will not relent: For his burning the bones of the king of Edom to such an extent that they turned into a substance similar to lime. This is likely referring to the war of Israel, Judah, and Edom against Moav. According to some commentaries, the king of Moav took the son of the king of Edom captive and slaughtered him on top of a wall. The king of Moav might have subsequently burnt his corpse, which would be the fourth severe sin, as the mistreatment of corpses is considered a terrible abomination.

וְשִׁלַּחְתִּי־אֵשׁ בְּמוֹאָב וְאָכְלָה אַרְמְנוֹת הַקְּרִיּוֹת וּמֵת בְּשָׁאוֹן מוֹאָב בִּתְרוּעָה בְּקוֹל שׁוֹפָר

I will send a fire in Moav and it will consume the palaces, the large cities, of Keriyot; and Moav will die in tumult, with alarm blasts and with the sound of the shofar, the noise of war. The nation of Moav will not be destroyed slowly; rather, it will collapse amid mayhem and confusion.

וְהִכְרַתִּי שׁוֹפֵט מִקִּרְבָּהּ וְכָל־שָׂרֶיהָ אֶהֱרוֹג עִמּוֹ אָמַר ה'

I will eliminate the judge, the leader of the nation, from its midst, and I will kill all its princes with him, said the Lord.

כֹּה אָמַר ה' עַל־שְׁלֹשָׁה פִּשְׁעֵי יְהוּדָה וְעַל־אַרְבָּעָה לֹא אֲשִׁיבֶנּוּ עַל־מָאֳסָם אֶת־תּוֹרַת ה' וְחֻקָּיו לֹא שָׁמָרוּ וַיַּתְעוּם כִּזְבֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר־הָלְכוּ אֲבוֹתָם אַחֲרֵיהֶם

The prophet turns his attention to the children of Israel. So said the Lord: For three transgressions of Judah I will not dispense punishment, but for the fourth, I will not relent: For their despising the Torah of the Lord and not observing His statutes; their lies that their fathers followed misled them. Their most severe sin was that after initially accepting the Torah they subsequently abandoned it for various forms of idolatry.

וְשִׁלַּחְתִּי אֵשׁ בִּיהוּדָה וְאָכְלָה אַרְמְנוֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָם

I will send a fire in Judah and it will consume the palaces of Jerusalem.

כֹּה אָמַר ה' עַל־שְׁלֹשָׁה פִּשְׁעֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְעַל־אַרְבָּעָה לֹא אֲשִׁיבֶנּוּ עַל־מִכְרָם בּכֶּסֶף צַדִּיק וְאֶבְיוֹן בַּעֲבוּר נַעֲלָיִם

Amos begins the primary portion of this prophecy, which deals with Samaria and the Kingdom of Israel. So said the Lord: For three transgressions of the Kingdom of Israel I will not dispense punishment, but for the fourth, I will not relent: For their sale of the righteous for silver and the indigent for a pair of shoes, an insignificant profit. They pervert justice and betray the innocent, vindicating the guilty in exchange for bribes. The latter phrase of the verse is also interpreted by the Sages as a reference to the sale of Joseph.

הַשֹּׁאֲפִים עַל־עֲפַר־אֶרֶץ בְּרֹאשׁ דַּלִּים וְדֶרֶךְ עֲנָוִים יַטּוּ וְאִישׁ וְאָבִיו יֵלְכוּ אֶל־הַנַּעֲרָה לְמַעַן חַלֵּל אֶת־שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי

They tread on the dust of the earth; they trample and step on the head of the impoverished. The powerful members of society crush the lowly without concern, like dust. And they divert the way of the humble, as they force the poor and righteous to act improperly themselves, or to hide. A man and his father go to the same young woman for the purpose of licentiousness, in order to profane My holy name. This act jointly committed by father and son is indicative of the loss of shame on their part. This is not merely submission to one’s desires, but a demonstration of moral indifference, as if all boundaries of acceptable conduct can be breached with impunity. Such an act profanes the name of God.

וְעַל־בְּגָדִים חֲבֻלִים יַטּוּ אֵצֶל כָּל־מִזְבֵּחַ וְיֵין עֲנוּשִׁים יִשְׁתּוּ בֵּית אֱלֹהֵיהֶם

They recline to eat on pawned garments, taken as security for a loan and not returned to their owners; beside every altar, and the wine of the penalized, they, the leaders, drink in the house of their gods. Such wine was purchased with money obtained from fines and other arbitrary charges. These are small-scale acts of theft, but they involve corruption, lowliness, evil character traits, and a desecration of God’s name.

וְאָנֹכִי הִשְׁמַדְתִּי אֶת הָאֱמֹרִי מִפְּנֵיהֶם אֲשֶׁר כְּגֹבַהּ אֲרָזִים גָּבְהוֹ וְחָסֹן הוּא כָּאַלּוֹנִים וָאַשְׁמִיד פִּרְיוֹ מִמַּעַל וְשָׁרָשָׁיו מִתָּחַת

When the Israelites entered the Land of Israel I destroyed the mighty Emorite kings from before them, whose height was like the height of cedars and who was strong as the oaks. The Emorites were renowned for their exceptional height and strength, and yet I destroyed his fruit from above and his roots from below, all for your sake.

וְאָנֹכִי הֶעֱלֵיתִי אֶתְכֶם מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם וָאוֹלֵךְ אֶתְכֶם בַּמִּדְבָּר אַרְבָּעִים שָׁנָה לָרֶשֶׁת אֶת־אֶרֶץ הָאֱמֹרִי

I took you up from the land of Egypt and led you in the wilderness forty years under My protection, to take possession of the land of the Emorites.

וָאָקִים מִבְּנֵיכֶם לִנְבִיאִים וּמִבַּחוּרֵיכֶם לִנְזִרִים הַאַף אֵין־זֹאת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל! נְאֻם־ה'

Not only did I provide you with physical blessings, but I raised up prophets from your sons, by endowing certain individuals with the necessary skills to become prophets, or students of prophets, and I established Nazirites, spiritual guides and role models, from your young men. Is this not so; is that not the case, children of Israel? This is the utterance of the Lord.

וַתַּשְׁקוּ אֶת־הַנְּזִרִים יָיִן וְעַל־הַנְּבִיאִים צִוִּיתֶם לֵאמֹר לֹא תִּנָּבְאוּ

But you were ungrateful for My gifts, and forcefully gave the Nazirites wine to drink, thereby causing them to violate their naziriteship; and you commanded the prophets, saying: Do not prophesy. Rather than considering prophecy a gift from God and accepting it with love and gratitude, you defiantly rejected the statements of the prophets.

הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי מֵעִיק תַּחְתֵּיכֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר תָּעִיק הָעֲגָלָה הַמְלֵאָה לָהּ עָמִיר

Therefore, behold, I will overburden you in your place, as I will press My hand down upon you until you bend, like a cart that is full of sheaves is overburdened and bends from the weight of the load.

וְאָבַד מָנוֹס מִקָּל וְחָזָק לֹא־יְאַמֵּץ כֹּחוֹ וְגִבּוֹר לֹא־יְמַלֵּט נַפְשׁוֹ

Flight will elude the swift, and they will be unable to flee; the strong will not exert his strength to defend himself, as the enemy will be too powerful, and the valiant will not save himself.

וְתֹפֵשׂ הַקֶּשֶׁת לֹא יַעֲמֹד וְקַל בְּרַגְלָיו לֹא יְמַלֵּט וְרֹכֵב הַסּוּס לֹא יְמַלֵּט נַפְשׁוֹ

The archer will not stand. In addition to the small bows used by archers from within their chariots, other archers shot their weapons from a distance. At the time of their defeat, the archers will flee, but even the swift of foot will not escape, and the rider of the horse will not be able to save himself, despite the swiftness of his horse.

וְאַמִּיץ לִבּוֹ בַּגִּבּוֹרִים עָרוֹם יָנוּס בַּיּוֹם־הַהוּא נְאֻם־ה'

The courageous of heart among the valiant, who go out to battle with armor and heavy weaponry, will flee naked on that day; they will discard all items that might impair their movement and prevent them from fleeing as fast as possible. All will run for their lives; many will be killed. Israel will suffer this total and shameful defeat as punishment for their conduct, which involved injustice, licentiousness, and widespread idolatry. This is the utterance of the Lord.