¶This is what the Lord says: “For three offenses of Tyre, and for four, I will not revoke its punishment, Because they turned an entire population over to Edom And did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
Parallel translations
- WEB Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Tyre, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they delivered up the whole community to Edom, and didn’t remember the brotherly covenant;
- KJV 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:
- BSB This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Tyre, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they delivered up a whole congregation of exiles to Edom and broke a covenant of brotherhood.
- NKJV Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they delivered up the whole captivity to Edom, And did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
- NLT This is what the Lord says: “The people of Tyre have sinned again and again, and I will not let them go unpunished! They broke their treaty of brotherhood with Israel, selling whole villages as slaves to Edom.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God condemns Tyre for selling whole communities into slavery and betraying a treaty of brotherhood. Breaking solemn covenants and trafficking people invites judgment.
Overview
Tyre, the great Phoenician trading city, shared in the slave trade but added the sin of violating a 'brotherly covenant,' likely the long alliance between Tyre and Israel (1 Kings 5; 9). Betrayal of sworn bonds for profit deepens their guilt. Amos shows that God upholds the sanctity of agreements and the dignity of persons. Faithfulness to covenant finds its perfection in Christ, who keeps God's covenant of grace.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- 1 Kgs 9:11–14(now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and cypress trees, and with gold, according to all his desire), King Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee.
- Isa 23:1–18The burden of Tyre. Howl, you ships of Tarshish! For it is laid waste, so that there is no house, no entering in. From the land of Kittim it is revealed to them.
- Zech 9:2–4and Hamath, also, which borders on it; Tyre and Sidon, because they are very wise.
- Joel 3:4–8“Yes, and what are you to me, Tyre, and Sidon, and all the regions of Philistia? Will you repay me? And if you repay me, I will swiftly and speedily return your repayment on your own head.
- 2 Chr 2:8–16“Send me also cedar trees, cypress trees, and algum trees out of Lebanon; for I know that your servants know how to cut timber in Lebanon. Behold, my servants will be with your servants,
- Ezek 26:1–21In the eleventh year, in the first of the month, Yahweh’s word came to me, saying,
- 2 Sam 5:11Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David, with cedar trees, carpenters, and masons; and they built David a house.
- Jer 47:4because of the day that comes to destroy all the Philistines, to cut off from Tyre and Sidon every helper who remains; for Yahweh will destroy the Philistines, the remnant of the isle of Caphtor.
- Amos 1:11Yahweh says: “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;
- Amos 1:6Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of Gaza, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they carried away captive the whole community, to deliver them up to Edom;
- Jer 25:22and all the kings of Tyre, and all the kings of Sidon, and the kings of the isle which is beyond the sea;
- 1 Kgs 5:1–11Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the place of his father, and Hiram had always loved David.
- Matt 11:21“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
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Christ at the center
Amid judgment on injustice, Amos promises the raising up of David's fallen tent — read by James in Acts 15 as the ingathering of the nations into the kingdom of the risen Christ.
How Amos 1:9 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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