Catholic Commentary on Amos 2

“They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground.” (Amos 2:6-7)

Judgment on Israel

Amos completes his circuit of the nations and arrives at Israel: for three sins of Israel, even for four, I will not relent. They sell the innocent for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals. They trample on the heads of the poor as on the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. They lie down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge. In the house of their god they drink wine taken as fines. I brought you up out of Egypt. I gave you the land. I raised up prophets from your children. But you made the Nazirites drink wine and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.

The Catechism identifies the selling of the innocent for silver and the trampling of the poor as the direct contradiction of the covenant requirement: the community liberated from slavery by God may not enslave others (CCC 2448).

Living the Word

Brothers and sisters, they sell the needy for a pair of sandals. A human being, made in the image of God, is exchanged for footwear. The dehumanisation of the poor is always a theological act: it denies the image of God in the person it treats as merchandise. Every soul has a price that no transaction can justify: the blood of Christ. No one is worth less than that.

Prayer

Lord God, let us never sell the needy for a pair of sandals or treat any human being as less than the image of God. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

2
Judgment on Moab, Judah, and Israel
1 This is what the LORD says:
“For three transgressions of Moab, even four,
I will not revoke My judgment,* 2:1 Or I will not revoke the punishment; Hebrew I will not revoke it; also in verses 4 and 6
because he burned to lime
the bones of Edom’s king.
2 So I will send fire against Moab
to consume the citadels of Kerioth.
Moab will die in tumult,
amid war cries and the sound of the ram’s horn.
3 I will cut off the ruler of Moab
and kill all the officials with him,”
says the LORD.
 
4 This is what the LORD says:
 
“For three transgressions of Judah, even four,
I will not revoke My judgment,
because they reject the Law of the LORD
and fail to keep His statutes;
they are led astray by the lies
in which their fathers walked.
5 So I will send fire upon Judah
to consume the citadels of Jerusalem.”
 
6 This is what the LORD says:
 
“For three transgressions of Israel, even four,
I will not revoke My judgment,
because they sell the righteous for silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals.
7 They trample on the heads of the poor
as on the dust of the earth;
they push the needy out of their way.
A man and his father
have relations with the same girl
and so profane My holy name.
8 They lie down beside every altar
on garments taken in pledge.
And in the house of their God,† 2:8 Or of their gods
they drink wine obtained through fines.‡ 2:8 Or they drink the wine of those who have been fined
 
9 Yet it was I who destroyed
the Amorite before them,
though his height was like that of the cedars,
and he was as strong as the oaks.
Yet I destroyed his fruit above
and his roots below.
10 And I brought you up from the land of Egypt
and led you forty years in the wilderness,
that you might take possession
of the land of the Amorite.
11 I raised up prophets from your sons
and Nazirites from your young men.
Is this not true,
O children of Israel?”
declares the LORD.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets not to prophesy.
13 Behold, I am about to crush you in your place
as with a cart full of grain.
14 Escape will fail the swift,
the strong will not prevail by his strength,
and the mighty will not save his life.
15 The archer will not stand his ground,
the fleet of foot will not escape,
and the horseman will not save his life.
16 Even the bravest of mighty men
will flee naked on that day,”
declares the LORD.

*2:1 2:1 Or I will not revoke the punishment; Hebrew I will not revoke it; also in verses 4 and 6

†2:8 2:8 Or of their gods

‡2:8 2:8 Or they drink the wine of those who have been fined

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