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英文原文
In this chapter we have, I. The general title of this prophecy (Am 1:1), with the general scope of it, Am 1:2. II. God's particular controversy with Syria (Am 1:3-5), with Palestine (Am 1:6-8), with Tyre (Am 1:9), with Edom (Am 1:11), and with Ammon (Am 1:13-15), for their cruelty to his people and the many injuries they had done them. This explains God's pleading with the nations, Joe 3:2.
1-2
Threatenings of Judgment (790 BC)
审判的警告（公元前790年）
¹ 当犹大王乌西雅、以色列王约阿施的儿子耶罗波安年间，大地震前二年，提哥亚牧人中的阿摩司得默示，论以色列他所看见的话。
² 他说：耶和华必从锡安吼叫，从耶路撒冷发声；牧人的住处必悲哀，迦密的山顶必枯干。
此处可见：I. 这预言的总体特征。它由先知所看见的话组成。话岂能被看见吗？是的，神的话能被看见；使徒们论及生命之道，他们不仅听过，而且是亲眼看过的，亲眼看过，亲手摸过的（约一1:1），可见神的话是何等真实而具体的事物。先知看见了这些话，意即：1. 它们是在异象中向他启示的，正如约翰被称为看见了那对他说话的声音，启1:12。2. 借这些话所预言的事，对他而言如同亲眼见过一般确实。这表明他在那未见之事的确据之信心里是何等坚固。
II. 这预言所借以差遣的人——提哥亚牧人中的阿摩司，他本是其中之一。有人认为他是经营牲畜的富商；这词曾用于摩押王（王下3:4，他是一个牧羊的财主）；很可能他借此生意积攒了钱财，然而他必须放下这一切来跟从神作先知。也有人认为他是贫苦的看羊人，因为我们看到（摩7:14-15）他同时还是采摘桑树的，那是一种贫寒的职业，我们可推想他仅能勉强糊口；而神选召他，正如祂选召大卫离开羊群，选召以利沙离开牛耕一样。许多人是在牧人这份宁静、纯朴、富于默想的职事中受训练，为要承担重大使命。当神要差遣一位先知来责备并警告祂的百姓时，祂竟使用了一位牧人、一个看牲畜的人；因为他们已经使自己如同没有悟性的马和骡，甚至比认识主人的牛还不如。神有时拣选了世上愚拙的，叫有智慧的羞愧，林前1:27。请注意：凡蒙神赐予才干来事奉祂的人，不可因出身卑微或起头寒微而被轻看或被搁置一旁。阿摩司自己并不以曾为牧人为耻，但别人也不该以此羞辱他，或因此轻看他。
III. 本书预言所关涉的人；这是论以色列，就是十支派，他们如今罪恶已熟，灭亡速至。神曾在他们中间兴起先知（摩2:11），他们却不理会；因此神从犹大地的提哥亚差遣一位给他们，好叫他既来自异国便更受敬重，或许他之所以被差离本国，正因为他在本国因曾作牧人而受人轻看。参太13:55-57。
IV. 这些预言传讲的时期。1. 本书与律法一样，按先知说预言时所事奉之列王的年代标注日期。这是在犹大王乌西雅的日子，那时该国政事顺遂；也是以色列王耶罗波安第二的日子，那时该国政事尚算平稳；然而他们二者都必须同时被告知他们所犯的罪，以及因这些罪将临到他们的审判，免得他们因眼前繁荣的一线光芒而自欺，或以为己身无罪，或自信长久安稳。2. 本书也按一件与此预言相关的特别事件标注日期；那是大地震前二年，即据载在乌西雅的日子所发生的那次地震（亚14:5），那次地震使全国陷入极大的惊恐，因为那里说他们在它面前逃跑。但他们怎能从地震中逃脱呢？有人推测这次地震发生在以赛亚见异象之时，那时门槛的根基震动，赛6:4。犹太人的传统认为，它恰发生在乌西雅擅自侵入祭司职分、进去烧香的时候，代下26:16。约瑟夫提到这次地震（《犹太古史》9.225），并说：“因这次地震，半座山被移走，被搬到四浪之外的一片平原上；它毁坏了王的园囿。”神借这位先知在两年前就预先警告，叫人知道神要借它震塌他们的房屋，摩3:15。
V. 这些预言的引言，包含其总体要旨（摩1:2）：耶和华必从锡安吼叫。 祂借先知所发的警告，以及祂在护理中所执行的那些警告，必如狮子咆哮之于牧人和羊群那样可畏。阿摩司在此所说的，与他同时代的何西阿（何11:10）和约珥（珥3:16）所说的是同一信息。狮子在撕裂之前先咆哮；神在击打之前先警告。请观察：1. 这警告从何而来——从锡安和耶路撒冷，从那里所颁发之神谕而来；因为警戒你仆人的正是它们，诗19:11。我们那以锡安为特别居所的神，要发出——仿佛发自那朝廷的——逮捕令，以在境内执行审判。参耶25:30。在锡安有施恩座；主从那里吼叫，表明神的公义作为与怜悯并不矛盾，乃被怜悯所调和减轻；而且这些警告本身就是真正的怜悯之举。我们受责罚，免得我们被定罪。2. 这警告有何效果：牧人的住处悲哀，或因惧怕咆哮的狮子，或因感受到那比方所表征的事，即大旱灾的后果（摩4:7），那使迦密的山顶（最肥美的田地）枯干、变为荒场，珥1:12-17。
英文原文
Threatenings of Judgment (790 BC)
¹ The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen 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.
² And he said, The LORD will roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the habitations of the shepherds shall mourn, and the top of Carmel shall wither.
Here is, I. The general character of this prophecy. It consists of the words which the prophet saw. Are words to be seen? Yes, God's words are; the apostles speak of the word of life, which they had not only heard, but which they had seen with their eyes, which they had looked upon, and which their hands had handled (1Jo 1:1), such a real substantial thing is the word of God. The prophet saw these words, that is, 1. They were revealed to him in a vision, as John is said to see the voice that spoke to him, Re 1:12. 2. That which was foretold by them was to him as certain as if he had seen it with his bodily eyes. It intimates how strong he was in that faith which is the evidence of things not seen.
II. The person by whom this prophecy was sent—Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, and was one of them. Some think he was a rich dealer in cattle; the word is used concerning the king of Moab (2Ki 3:4, He was a sheep-master); it is probable that he got money by that business, and yet he must quit it, to follow God as a prophet. Others think he was a poor keeper of cattle, for we find (Am 7:14,15) that he was withal a gatherer of wild figs, a poor employment by which we may suppose he could but just get his bread, and that God took him, as he did David, from following the flock, and Elisha from following the plough. Many were trained up for great employments, in the quiet, innocent, contemplative business of shepherds. When God would send a prophet to reprove and warn his people, he employed a shepherd, a herdsman, to do it; for they had made themselves as the horse and mule that have no understanding, nay, worse than the ox that knows his owner. God sometimes chooses the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, 1Co 1:27. Note, Those whom God has endued with abilities for his service ought not to be despised nor laid aside for the meanness either of their origin or of their beginnings. Though Amos himself is not ashamed to own that he was a herdsman, yet others ought not to upbraid him with it nor think the worse of him for it.
III. The persons concerned in the prophecy of this book; it is concerning Israel, the ten tribes, who were now ripened in sin and ripening apace for ruin. God has raised them up prophets among themselves (Am 2:11), but they regarded them not; therefore God sends them one from Tekoa, in the land of Judah, that, coming from another country, he might be the more valued, and perhaps he was the rather sent out of his own country because there he was despised for his having been a herdsman. See Mt 13:55-57.
IV. The time when these prophecies were delivered. 1. The book is dated, as laws used to be, by the reigns of the kings under whom the prophet prophesied. It was in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, when the affairs of that kingdom went very well, and of Jeroboam the second kind of Israel, when the affairs of that kingdom went pretty well; yet then they must both be told both of the sins they were guilty of and of the judgments that were coming upon them for those sins, that they might not with the present gleam of prosperity flatter themselves either into an opinion of their innocence or a confidence of their perpetual security. 2. It is dated by a particular event to which is prophecy had a reference; it was two years before the earthquake, that earthquake which is mentioned to have been in the days of Uzziah (Zec 14:5), which put the nation into a dreadful fright, for it is there said, They fled before it. But how could they flee from it? Some conjecture that this earthquake was at the time of Isaiah's vision, when the posts of the door were moved, Isa 6:4. The tradition of the Jews is that it happened just at the time when Uzziah presumptuously invaded the priest's office and went in to burn incense, 2Ch 26:16. Josephus mentions this earthquake, Antiq. 9.225, and says, "By it half of a mountain was removed and carried to a plain four furlongs off; and it spoiled the king's gardens." God by this prophet gave warning of it two years before, that God by it would shake down their houses, Am 3:15.
V. The introduction to these prophecies, containing the general scope of them (Am 1:2): The Lord will roar from Zion. His threatenings by his prophets, and the executions of those threatenings in his providence, will be as terrible as the roaring of a lion is to the shepherds and their flocks. Amos here speaks the same language with his contemporaries, Hosea (Ho 11:10) and Joel, Joe 3:16. The lion roars before he tears; God gives warning before he strikes. Observe, 1. Whence this warning comes—from Zion and Jerusalem, from the oracles of God there delivered; for by them is thy servant warned, Ps 19:11. Our God, whose special residence is there, will issue out warrants, given at that court, as it were, for the executing of judgments on the land. See Jer 25:30. In Zion was the mercy-seat; thence the Lord roars, intimating that God's acts of justice are consistent with mercy, allayed and mitigated by mercy, nay, as they are warnings, they are really acts of mercy. We are chastened, that we may be not be condemned. 2. What effect the warning has: The habitations of the shepherds mourn, either because they fear the roaring lion or because they feel what is signified by that comparison, the consequences of a great drought (Am 4:7), which made the top of Carmel (of the most fruitful fields) to wither and become a desert, Joe 1:12-17.
3-15
Threatenings of Judgment (790 BC)
审判的威吓（主前790年）\n\n> ³ 耶和华如此说：大马士革三番四次地犯罪，我必不免去她的刑罚；因为他们以打粮食的铁器打过基列。\n> ⁴ 我却要降火在哈薛的家，烧灭便•哈达的宫殿。\n> ⁵ 我必折断大马士革的门闩，剪除亚文平原的居民和伯•伊甸掌权的。亚兰人必被掳到吉珥。这是耶和华说的。\n> ⁶ 耶和华如此说：迦萨三番四次地犯罪，我必不免去她的刑罚；因为他们掳掠众民交给以东。\n> ⁷ 我却要降火在迦萨的城垣，烧灭其中的宫殿。\n> ⁸ 我必剪除亚实突的居民和亚实基伦掌权的，也必反手攻击以革伦。非利士人所余剩的必都灭亡。这是主耶和华说的。\n> ⁹ 耶和华如此说：推罗三番四次地犯罪，我必不免去她的刑罚；因为他们将众民交给以东，并不记念弟兄的盟约。\n> ¹⁰ 我却要降火在推罗的城垣，烧灭其中的宫殿。\n> ¹¹ 耶和华如此说：以东三番四次地犯罪，我必不免去她的刑罚；因为他拿刀追赶兄弟，毫无怜悯，发怒撕裂，永怀忿怒。\n> ¹² 我却要降火在提幔，烧灭波斯拉的宫殿。\n> ¹³ 耶和华如此说：亚扪人三番四次地犯罪，我必不免去他们的刑罚；因为他们剖开基列的孕妇，扩张自己的境界。\n> ¹⁴ 我却要在争战呐喊的日子，旋风狂暴的时候，点火在拉巴的城垣，烧灭其中的宫殿。\n> ¹⁵ 他们的王和王子必一同被掳去。这是耶和华说的。\n\n主在此处所说的话，可以借他在耶12:14中所说的话来解释：主如此说：敌对我百姓以色列的占据产业的恶邻，看哪，我必将他们拔出。 大马士革在以色列北面紧邻，推罗和迦萨在西面，以东在南面，亚扪与（下一章所述的）摩押在东面；这一切民族都曾在一时一事上作以色列 刺人的荆棘和扰人的蒺藜，是他们的恶邻；因神亲自承担他百姓的讼案，他在此称他们为 他的恶邻，于是出来与他们算账。神对付他们各人所采取的方法，在某种程度上是相同的，因此我们将他们放在一起讨论，但其中每一国又有其独特之处。\n\nI. 让我们先看看论到这一切民族时，无论是控诉方面还是判语方面，所重复的内容。神与他们每一国的争讼，都以 主如此说——耶和华以色列的神如此说 作开篇。这些列国虽不肯敬奉他为他们的神，却必被叫醒得知：他们必须向作为审判官的他交账。以色列的神是 全地之神，对他们有话要说，必使他们战兢。耶和华 从锡安吼叫。在神借先知威吓以色列与犹大之前，他先向那些被他用作惩戒他们之杖的列国宣告审判；这既可遏止他们的骄傲与狂妄，又可使他在灰心丧胆中的百姓得着安慰；因为借此他们可以看见，神并未放弃他在他们身上的权益，因此他们也可盼望自己并未失去在神面前的份。如今论到这一切在此受审的列国：\n\n1. 对他们所有人所提出的控诉，在以下方面是相同的：(1.) 他们被笼统地控以 三番四次的过犯，意即多重的过犯（正如我们以一两个表示 少数，以三四个便表示多数；在拉丁文中，一个极其蒙福的人被称为 terque quarterque beatus——三番四次地蒙福）；或作 三番四次，即七样过犯，是完全的数目，暗示他们 罪恶满盈，败亡之日已到；或作 三样（即多种罪）加上第四样 尤为突出——这第四样正是每国各自所具体指明的，而其余三样并未明列，正如箴30:15、18、21、29中所读到的 三样，连四样，其中似有一项被特别点明。(2.) 那被定为其第四样、且唯一被具体指明的罪，乃是逼迫之罪：每一国都被特别控告行了某种残害神百姓的恶事，因为逼迫乃是任何民族罪恶满盈的罪，也正是这项罪将受到特别的清算——我饿了，你们不给我吃；更何况若可说：我饿了，你们却夺去我的食物。\n\n2. 对他们所有人所宣告的判语，在以下方面也是相同的：(1.) 他们的罪恶既已达到如此高度，神必不免去其刑罚。 虽他曾长久宽容他们，又曾多次 免去他们的刑罚，但如今他不再宽免，公义必要循其道而行。我必不撤销（有人如此读）；我必不收回那从锡安向耶路撒冷发出的声音（摩1:2），向犯罪的列国宣告死亡与恐怖。这是一项不可挽回的判语。神已说了，他必不 收回。 当知，神虽长久忍耐，却不会永远容忍惹动他怒气的人；当所定的判决显明之时，必将其执行到底。(2.) 神要 在他们中间点起火；这话是论到这一切 恶邻 时所说的（摩1:4、7、10、12、14）。神要 降火 在他们的城中。当焚烧城邑、乡镇、房屋的火——无论出于故意或偶然——被点燃之时，都当在其中有份地承认神的作为；那些火都是他所差遣的。罪恶激起他忌邪的火，那火又点燃别样的火。\n\nII. 让我们再看看论到每一国时，无论是控诉还是判语方面，各有哪些独特之处，使各人各取其分。\n\n1. 论到大马士革——亚兰的首都，这个王国常常骚扰以色列。(1.) 大马士革独特的罪，是残暴地对待基列人：他们以打粮食的铁器打过基列（摩1:3）。这话可按字面理解，指他们把所抓获的基列居民施以酷刑，或处以极刑，正如大卫使亚扪人躺在 锯下和铁耙下（撒下12:31）。我们读到亚兰王哈薛以何等的残忍与以色列争战（王下8:12）；他 摔死他们的婴孩，剖开他们的孕妇；又看他曾在他们的境内造成何等的荒凉（王下10:32-33）。这话也可按寓意理解，指他使那地变为荒场，而史书正是用了同样的比方：王下13:7——他 毁灭他们，使他们如打谷的尘土。 当知，人常常行了不义与恶事，必为此受严厉清算，然而那不过是神所容许他们行的。教会被称为 神所打之谷，他禾场之谷（赛21:10）；但人若把教会当作自己的打谷场，当作自己禾场上的糠秕，他们必为此受审。(2.) 大马士革独特的刑罚是：[1.] 那所降的火必首先烧到宫廷，不是首要的城邑，也不是乡镇，而是 哈薛的家——他所建造的宫殿；火必烧灭便•哈达的宫殿，就是亚兰列王所居的皇家宫室，其中许多王都以此为名。当知，即或是皇家宫室，无论陈设何等华美，无论防御何等坚固，都不能在神的审判前作保障。[2.] 仇敌必强行攻入城中（摩1:5）：我必折断大马士革的门闩，城门便随之敞开。这话也可按寓意理解：那一座大城所赖以为其力量与保障的一切，都将失效，证明其不足恃。当神的审判奉命而来，想要 将其逐退，终归徒然。[3.] 百民必被刀剑所灭：我必剪除亚文平原的居民，即 偶像之谷，因为亚兰人的神乃是 山谷之神（王上20:23），在谷中受敬拜；正如以色列的偶像在 山冈 上受敬拜；以及那持权杖的——某个素来夸耀自己从伯•伊甸（即 享乐之家）得着权杖的小王。那些沉迷于偶像的和那些沉迷于纵欲的，必一同被剪除。[4.] 国民必整体被掳去。百姓必被掳到吉珥去，那地在玛代境内。我们看到这事在约五十年后应验了（王下16:9），那时 亚述王上去攻击大马士革，攻取了它，将百姓掳到吉珥，又杀了利汛——这是因犹大王亚哈斯的唆使而行的。\n\n2. 论到迦萨——非利士的一座城，也是当时那地的首邑。(1.) 非利士人独特的罪，是 掳掠了全部的俘虏——无论是以色列人还是犹大人；有人认为这是指约兰时所遭的那次入侵，当时他们掳去了 众王子 和 所有的财物（代下21:17）；也有人认为是指西拿基立侵攻犹大时，那些逃往他们那里求庇护的人，反被他们捉住，卖给希腊人（珥3:4-6），或如本处所言，卖给以东人，而以东人向来是神百姓的死敌。他们一人不留，凡能抓到的都掳走，企图若可能便 剪除以色列的名号（诗83:4-7）。(2.) 非利士人独特的刑罚是：神所降的火必烧灭迦萨的宫殿，非利士其余诸城——亚实突（即亚锁都）、亚实基伦、以革伦——的 居民 都必被 剪除；神向他们施行毁灭时，必作得彻底，正如他们当初若能将神的百姓全部掳走时所要做到的那样；因为连他们所剩下的 余民 也 必都灭亡（摩1:8）。当知，那想要把神的教会和百姓尽行除灭的人，神必使他们彻底灭绝。\n\n3. 论到推罗——那以财富与势力闻名的大城，本身就是一个国度（摩1:9）。(1.) 推罗独特的罪，是 将全部被掳之民交给以东，即把那些逃到他们那里求庇护、或以任何方式落入他们手中的以色列人，卖给以东人；他们不顾给这些人造成怎样的苦楚，只要自己能从中获利便心满意足。他们在此忘记了的 弟兄盟约——就是所罗门与推罗王希兰之间所立的盟约（王上5:12），那盟约亲密到一个地步，希兰称所罗门为 兄弟（王上9:13）。当知，当仇恨与恶意乃是对友谊与 弟兄盟约 的背弃时，其罪便大大加重。(2.) 论到推罗的刑罚，其中没有什么独特之处，不过 其中的宫殿必被烧灭；这事在尼布甲尼撒围城十三年之后攻取该城时应验了。他们的商人都是君王，他们的私宅如同宫殿；然而那火要将它们视作茅舍一般，毫不留情。\n\n4. 论到以东——以扫的后裔。(1.) 他们独特的罪，是对神百姓毫无怜悯、永不疲倦的追逼，并抓住一切机会加以残害（摩1:11）。他 拿刀追赶兄弟——不但是从前以东王起兵阻挡以色列人 经过他的境界（民20:18），而且此后每逢机会便如此行；他们没有足够的胆量和勇气在战场上正面交锋，但每逢别的仇敌使犹大或以色列败逃之时，以东人便加入追兵之列，袭击后队，杀戮那些已经半死的人；（正如懦夫在仇敌处于劣势时常见的样子）他们 毫无怜悯。 最不勇敢的人往往最为残忍。以东正是如此；他的恶意 毁灭了他的恻隐（原文如此）；他脱去了人之为人的温情，披上了猛兽的凶残；既是这样的兽，他便撕咬，他的 忿怒常在撕裂。 他的残忍永无止境，他从不知道何时吸够了以色列的血，仿佛水蛭一般不住地喊着：给呀，给呀。 不但如此，他 永怀忿怒； 当他缺少发怒的对象和泄愤的机会之时，他仍把怒气存留备用（那怒气 藏在他怀中），他将它当作美味在舌下翻滚，随时预备在下一次机会来到时吐在以色列的脸上。愿这样残忍的怒气和这样凶暴狂烈的忿怒受咒诅——它使人像那 遍地游行寻找可吞吃之人 的魔鬼，却使人不像那 不永远怀怒 的神。以东的恶意是反乎人性的，因为他这样追逼的乃是他的兄弟，本是他应当保护的；这恶意是世代相传的，仿佛从以扫恨雅各那日起就附着这个家族，连时间本身也不能将其磨损，连以色列待他们的弟兄情谊（申2:4）和赐给以色列的明文律法（申23:7）——你不可憎恶以东人，因为他是你的弟兄——也不能如此。(2.) 论到他们的刑罚，其中也没有什么独特之处；不过（摩1:12）必有火被差遣，烧灭他们的宫殿。 当知，我们对弟兄所发的怒火，必点燃神向我们发作的怒火。\n\n5. 论到亚扪人（摩1:13-15）。(1.) 请看他们怒气的火向神的百姓焚烧得何等猛烈；他们不仅在他们的灾祸中幸灾乐祸（如结25:2、6所记），更亲自以残暴对待他们；他们 剖开基列的孕妇——这一残忍之举，仅提及便足以令人心惊；人会以为人类之中不可能有人如此丧尽天良。哈薛曾行过这事（王下8:12）。这事不是出于盲目的兽性狂怒——那种狂怒不加思索地扑向眼前的一切；而是出于魔鬼般的图谋，要借杀戮一切已生的和一切将生的人来灭绝以色列的种族，比埃及的残暴更甚。他们如此行，是 为要扩张自己的境界，好使基列之地归为己有，使无人再能对那地提出要求，或在他们占有之时搅扰他们。我们看到（耶49:1）亚扪人占据了 迦得（即基列），借口说以色列没有儿子、没有后嗣。我们知道那些人说：这是那承受产业的；来吧，我们杀了他，产业就归我们了——他们的判罚何等沉重，他们的罪何等可憎。请看贪婪能造成何等的残忍，那些急欲 扩张自己境界 的人，常被驱使去行何等可怖的事。(2.) 请看神怒气的火向他们焚烧得何等猛烈；神岂不 为这些事 而追究——这些事若行在任何人身上尚且如此，何况行在他自己的百姓身上？他的心岂不向这样的百姓复仇吗？ 必然如此。火必 在争战呐喊的日子 点燃，意即战争将点燃这火；这火必是伴有刀剑的火，或是咆哮的火，其声如兵士列阵待战；这火也必如 旋风狂暴之日 的 暴风，迅速、猛烈而来，将一切阻挡之物尽行扫除。或作：这暴风与旋风必如风箱之于火，使火烧得更旺，蔓延得更广。这里特别威吓说：他们的王和他的王子必一同被掳去——被巴比伦王所掳，距犹大被掳之时不久。请看神的护理常常在人身上——或者更准确地说，人的罪在人身上——所造成的改变：君王变为俘虏，王子成为囚徒。玛勒堪必被掳去； 有人将此理解为亚扪人的神——他们称之为 *摩洛——即君王的那位。他，和他的王子，以及服侍他的祭司，必 一同被掳去；他们的偶像不但不能保护他们，自己反倒要随他们一同被掳。当知，那些以暴力与欺诈寻求扩张自己境界的人，理当被驱逐、被逐出自己的境界；那些不顾公义侵夺他人权利的人，当他人侵夺他们的权利时无力抵抗，也就不足为奇了。\n
英文原文
Threatenings of Judgment (790 BC)
³ 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:
⁴ But I will send a fire into the house of Hazael, which shall devour the palaces of Benhadad.
⁵ I will break also the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, and him that holdeth the sceptre from the house of Eden: and the people of Syria shall go into captivity unto Kir, saith the LORD.
⁶ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they carried away captive the whole captivity, to deliver them up to Edom:
⁷ But I will send a fire on the wall of Gaza, which shall devour the palaces thereof:
⁸ And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the sceptre from Ashkelon, and I will turn mine hand against Ekron: and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord GOD.
⁹ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Tyrus, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, and remembered not the brotherly covenant:
¹⁰ But I will send a fire on the wall of Tyrus, which shall devour the palaces thereof.
¹¹ 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:
¹² But I will send a fire upon Teman, which shall devour the palaces of Bozrah.
¹³ Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn away the punishment thereof; because they have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border:
¹⁴ But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind:
¹⁵ And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the LORD.
What the Lord says here may be explained by what he says Jer 12:14, Thus said the Lord, against all my evil neighbours that touch the inheritance of my people Israel, Behold, I will pluck them out. Damascus was a near neighbour to Israel on the north, Tyre and Gaza on the west, Edom on the south, Ammon and (in the next chapter) Moab on the east; and all of them had been, one time, one way, or other, pricking briers and grieving thorns to Israel, evil neighbours to them; and, because God espouses his people's cause, he there calls them his evil neighbours, and here comes forth to reckon with them. The method is taken in dealing with each of them is, in part, the same, and therefore we put them together, and yet in each there is something peculiar.
I. Let us see what is repeated, both by way of charge and by way of sentence, concerning them all. The controversy God has with each of them is prefaced with, Thus said the Lord, Jehovah the God of Israel. Though those nations will not worship him as their God, yet they shall be made to know that they are accountable to him as their Judge. The God of Israel is the God of the whole earth, and has something to say to them that shall make them tremble. Against them the Lord roars out of Zion. And before God, by the prophet, threatens Israel and Judah, he denounces judgments against those nations whom he made use of as scourges to them for their being so, which might serve for a check to their pride and insolence and a relief to his people under their dejections; for hereby they might see that God had not quitted his interest in them, and therefore might hope they had not lost their interest in him. Now as to all these nations here arraigned,
1. The indictment drawn up against them all is thus far the same, (1.) That they are charged in general with three transgressions, and with four, that is, with many transgressions (as by one or two we mean a few, so by three or four we mean many, as in Latin a man that is very happy is said to be terque quarterque beatus—three and four times happy); or with three and four, that is, with seven transgressions, a number of perfection, intimating that they have filled up the measure of their iniquities, and are ripe for ruin; or with three (that is, a variety of sins) and with a fourth especially, which is specified concerning each of them, though the other three are not, as Pr 30:15,18,21,29, where we read of three things, yea, four, generally one seems to be more especially intended. (2.) That the particular sin which is fastened upon as the fourth, and which alone is specified, is the sin of persecution: it is some mischief or other done to the people of God that is particularly charged upon every one of them, for persecution is the measure-filling sin of any people, and it is this sin that will be particularly reckoned for—I was hungry, and you gave me no meat; much more if it may be said, I was hungry, and you took my meat from me.
2. The judgment given against them all is thus far the same, (1.) That, their sin having risen to such a height, God will not turn away the punishment thereof. Though he has granted them a long reprieve, and has often turned away their punishment, yet now he will turn it away no longer, but justice shall take its course. "I will not revoke it (so some read it); I will not recall the voice which has gone forth from Zion to Jerusalem (Am 1:2), speaking death and terror to the sinful nations." It is an irrevocable sentence. God has spoken it, and he will not call it back. Note, Though God bear long, he will not bear always, with those that provoke him; and, when the decree brings forth, it will bring up. (2.) That God will kindle a fire among them; this is said concerning all these evil neighbours, Am 1:4,7,10,12,14. God will send a fire into their cities. When fires are kindled that lay cities, towns, and houses in ashes, whether designedly or casually, God must be acknowledged in it; they are of his sending. Sin stirs up the fire of his jealousy, and that kindles other fires.
II. Let us see what is mentioned, both by way of charge and by way of sentence, that is peculiar to each of them, that every one may take his portion.
1. Concerning Damascus, the head-city of Syria, a kingdom that was often vexatious to Israel. (1.) The peculiar sin of Damascus was using the Gileadites barbarously: They threshed Gilead with threshing-instruments of iron (Am 1:3), which may be understood literally of their putting to the torture, or to cruel deaths, the inhabitants of Gilead whom they got into their hands, as David put the Ammonites under saws and harrows 2Sa 12:31. We read with what inhumanity Hazael king of Syria prosecuted his wars with Israel (2Ki 8:12); he dashed their children, and ripped up their women with child; and see what desolations he made in their land, 2Ki 10:32,33. Or it may be taken figuratively, for his laying the country waste, and this very similitude is used in the history of it. 2Ki 13:7, He destroyed them, and made them like the dust by threshing. Note, Men often do that unjustly and wickedly, and shall be severely reckoned with for it, which yet God just permits them to do. The church is called God's threshing, and the corn of his floor (Isa 21:10); but if men make it their threshing, and the chaff of their floor, they shall be sure to hear of it. (2.) The peculiar punishment of Damascus is [1.] That the fire which shall be sent shall fasten upon the court in the first place, not on the chief city, nor the country towns, but on the house of Hazael, which he built; and it shall devour the palaces of Ben-hadad, the royal palaces inhabited by the kings of Syria, many of whom were of that name. Note, Even royal palaces are no defence against the judgments of God, though ever so richly furnished, though ever so strongly fortified. [2.] That the enemy shall force his way into the city (Am 1:5): I will break the bar of Damascus, and then the gate flies open. Or it may be understood figuratively: all that which is depended upon as the strength and safety of that great city shall fail, and prove insufficient. When God's judgments come with commission it is in vain to think of turning them out. [3.] That the people shall be destroyed with the sword: I will cut off the inhabitant from the plain of Aven, the valley of idolatry, for the gods of the Syrians were gods of the valleys (1Ki 20:23), were worshipped in valleys; as the idols of Israel were worshipped on the hills; him also that holdeth the sceptre of power, some petty king or other that used to boast of the sceptre he held from Beth-Eden, the house of pleasure. Both those that were given to idolatry and those that were given to sensuality should be cut off together. [4.] That the body of the nation shall be carried off. The people shall go into captivity unto Kir, which was in the country of the Medes. We find this fulfilled (2Ki 16:9) about fifty years after this, when the king of Assyria went up against Damascus, and took it, and carried the people of it captive to Kir, and slew Rezin, at the instigation of Ahaz king of Judah.
2. Concerning Gaza, a city of the Philistines, and now the metropolis of that country. (1.) The peculiar sin of the Philistines was carrying away captive the whole captivity, either of Israel or Judah, which some think refers to that inroad made upon Jehoram when they took away all the king's sons and all his substance (2Ch 21:17), or, perhaps, it refers to their seizing those that fled to them for shelter when Sennacherib invaded Judah, and selling them to the Grecians (Joe 3:4-6), or (as here) to the Edomites, who were always sworn enemies to the people of God. They spared none, but carried off all they could lay their hands on, designing, if possible, to cut off the name of Israel, Ps 83:4-7. (2.) The peculiar punishment of the Philistines is that the fire which God will send shall devour the palaces of Gaza, and that the inhabitants of the other cities of the Philistines, Ashdod (or Azotus), Ashkelon, and Ekron, shall all be cut off, and God will make as thorough work with them in their ruin as they would have made with God's people when they carried away the whole captivity; for even the remnant of them shall perish, Am 1:8. Note, God will make a full end of those that think to make a full end of his church and people.
3. Concerning Tyre, that famous city of wealth and strength, that was itself a kingdom, Am 1:9. (1.) The peculiar sin of Tyre is delivering up the whole captivity to Edom, that is, selling to the Edomites those of Israel that fled to them for shelter, or in any way fell into their hands; not caring what hardships they put upon them, so that they could but make gain of them to themselves. Herein they forgot the brotherly covenant, the league that was between Solomon and Hiram king of Tyre (1Ki 5:12), which was intimate that Hiram called Solomon his brother, 1Ki 9:13. Note, It is a great aggravation of enmity and malice when it is the violation of friendship and of a brotherly covenant. (2.) Here is nothing peculiar in the punishment of Tyrus but that the palaces thereof shall be devoured, which was done when Nebuchadnezzar took it after thirteen years' siege. Their merchants were all princes, and their private houses were as palaces; but the fire shall make no more of them than of cottages.
4. Concerning Edom, the posterity of Esau. (1.) Their peculiar sin was an unmerciful, unwearied, pursuit of the people of God, and their taking all advantages against them to do them a mischief, Am 1:11. He did pursue his brother with the sword, not only of old, when the king of Edom took up arms to oppose the children of Israel's passage through his border (Nu 20:18), but ever since upon all occasions; they had not strength and courage enough to face them in the field of battle, but, whenever any other enemy had put Judah or Israel to flight, then the Edomites set in with the pursuers, fell upon the rear, slew those that were half dead already, and (as is usual with cowards when they have an enemy at an advantage) they did cast off all pity. Those that are least courageous are commonly most cruel. Edom was so; his malice destroyed his compassion (so the word is); he stripped himself of the tenderness of a man, and put on the fierceness of a beast of prey; and, as such a one, he did tear, his anger did tear perpetually. His cruelty was insatiable, and he never knew when he had sucked enough of the blood of Israel, but, like the horse-leech, still cried, Give, give. Nay, he kept his wrath for ever; when he wanted objects of his wrath, and opportunity to show it, yet he kept it in reserve (it rested in his bosom), he rolled it under his tongue as a sweet morsel, and had it ready to spit in the face of Israel upon the next occasion. Cursed be such cruel wrath, and anger so fierce, so outrageous, which makes men like the devil, who continually seeks to devour, and unlike to God, who keeps not his anger for ever. Edom's malice was unnatural, for thus he pursued his brother, whom he ought to have protected: it was hereditary, as if it had been entailed upon the family ever since Esau hated Jacob, and time itself could not wear it out, no, nor the brotherly conduct of Israel towards them (De 2:4), and the express law given to Israel (De 23:7), Thou shalt not abhor an Edomite, for he is thy brother. (2.) Here is nothing peculiar in their punishment; but (Am 1:12) a fire shall be sent to devour their palaces. Note, The fire of our anger against our brethren kindles the fire of God's anger against us.
5. Concerning the Ammonites, Am 1:13-15. (1.) See how violently the fire of their anger turned against the people of God; they not only triumphed in their calamities (as we find, Eze 25:2,6), but they did themselves use them barbarously; they ripped up the women with child of Gilead, a piece of cruelty the very mention of which strikes a horror upon one's mind; one would think it is not possible that any of the human race should be so inhuman. Hazael was guilty of it, 2Ki 8:12. It was done not only in a brutish rage, which falls without consideration upon all that comes before it, but with a devilish design to extirpate the race of Israel by killing not only all that were born, but all that were to be born, worse than Egyptian cruelty. It was that they might enlarge their border, that they might make the land of Gilead their own, and there might be none to lay claim to it or given them any disturbance in the possession of it. We find (Jer 49:1) that the Ammonites inherited Gad (that is, Gilead) under pretence that Israel had no sons, no heirs. We know how heavy the doom of those was, and how heinous their crime, who said, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours by occupancy. See what cruelty covetousness is the cause of, and what horrid practices those are often put upon that are greedy to enlarge their own border. (2.) See how violently the fire of God's anger burned against them; shall not God visit for these things done to any of mankind, especially when they are done to his own people? Shall not his soul be avenged on such a nation as this? No doubt, it shall. The fire shall be kindled with shouting in the day of battle, that is, war shall kindle the fire; it shall be a fire accompanied with the sword, or a roaring fire, which shall make a noise like that of soldiers ready to engage, and it shall be as a tempest in the day of the whirlwind, which comes swiftly, furiously, and bears down all before it. Or this tempest and whirlwind shall be as bellows to the fire, to make it burn the stronger, and spread the further. It is particularly threatened that their king and his princes shall go together into captivity, carried away by the king of Babylon, not long after Judah was. See what changes God's providence often makes with men, or rather their own sin; kings become captives, and princes prisoners. Milchom shall go into captivity; some understand it of the god of the Ammonites, whom they called Moloch—a king. He, and his princes, and his priests that attended him, shall to into captivity; their idol shall be so far from protecting them that it shall itself go into captivity with them. Note, Those who by violence and fraud seek to enlarge their own border will justly be expelled and excluded their own border; nor is it strange if those who make no conscience of invading the rights of others be able to make no resistance against those who invade theirs.
在本章中，我们看到：I. 这预言的总标题（摩1:1），以及其总体要旨，摩1:2。II. 神与叙利亚的争讼（摩1:3-5），与非利士的争讼（摩1:6-8），与推罗的争讼（摩1:9），与以东的争讼（摩1:11），以及与亚扪人的争讼（摩1:13-15），都因他们向祂百姓所行的残忍，并他们加诸其上的种种伤害。这正解释了神与列国争辩之意，珥3:2。