Amos 1:13 (WEB)

Passage

Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead, that they may enlarge their border.

Nearby Context

Amos 1:11 Yahweh 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 1:12 but I will send a fire on Teman, and it will devour the palaces of Bozrah.”

Amos 1:13 Yahweh says: “For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, yes, for four, I will not turn away its punishment; because they have ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead, that they may enlarge their border.

Amos 1:14 But I will kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it will devour its palaces, with shouting in the day of battle, with a storm in the day of the whirlwind;

Amos 1:15 and their king will go into captivity, he and his princes together,” says Yahweh.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "transgressions", "yahweh", "says", "three", "children", "ammon", "four", and "turn". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "transgressions" and "yahweh", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 12's "but I will send a fire on..." into verse 14's "But I will kindle a fire in...", so "transgressions" and "yahweh" belong inside that flow. In Amos context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "transgressions" and "yahweh" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.