Amos 2:2
in Amos 2So 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth; and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet;
KJV
But I will send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth: and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet:
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This verse in Amos 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe palaces of Kirioth - This was one of the principal cities of the Moabites. Moab shall die with tumult - All these expressions seem to refer to this city’s being taken by storm, which was followed by a total slaughter of its inhabitants.
This site's exposition
he burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime
on Amos 2:1-3
Moab's crime closes the ring of surrounding nations and it is an atrocity against the dead rather than the living, burning a defeated king's bones to lime, an act the bench connects to the war recorded at 2 Kings 3, where an extremity of that campaign is remembered by the nations even where Israel's own record passes over it lightly. The oracle judges a sin against no covenant people and no treaty partner, only against the plain dignity owed even an enemy's corpse, which the commentators read as proof the whole ring of judgments rests on a moral law wider than Israel's own election. Fire on Moab, the judge and the princes cut off, ends the section exactly as each nation before it ended.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 2, Verse 1 and following) Thus says the Lord: Concerning the three sins of Moab, and concerning four, I will not revoke my punishment, because he burned the bones of the king of Edom to ashes. And I will send fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth, and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of the trumpet. And I will cut off the judge from the midst of her, and will slay all her princes with him, says the Lord.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, Isa. ix. (2.) It is a judgment upon their judge, who had passed the sentence upon the bones of the king of Edom that they should be burnt to lime: I will cut him off, says God (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
But I will send a fire upon Moab,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Kirioth--the chief city of Moab, called also Kir-Moab (Isa 15:1). The form is plural here, as including both the acropolis and town itself (see Jer 48:24, 41, Margin). die with tumult--that is, amid the tumult of battle (Ho 10:14).
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
It shall devour the palaces of Kerioth - Literally, “the cities,” that is, a collection of cities. It may have received a plural form upon some enlargement, as Jerusalem received a dual form, as a double city. The name is, in different forms, very common . In the plain or high downs of Moab itself, there were both Kiriathaim, “double city” and Kerloth Jer 48:23-24; in Naphthali, a Kiriathaim, (1Ch 6:76, (1Ch 6:61 in Hebrew)) or Kartan Jos 21:32; in Judah, the Kerioth Jos 15:25 from where the wretched Judas has his name Iscariot; in Zebulon, Kartah Jos 21:34 also, which reappears as the Numidian Cirta. Moab had also a Kiriath-huzoth, “city of streets” Num 22:39, within the Arnon . This alone was within the proper border of Moab, such as the Armorites had left it. Kerioth and Kiriathaim were in the plain country which Israel had won from the Amorites, and its possession would imply an aggression of Moab. Jeroboam II had probably at this time brought Moab to a temporary submission (see the note at Amo 6:14); but Israel only required fealty and tribute of Moab; Moab appears even before the captivity of the 2 12 tribes, to have invaded the possessions of Israel. Kerioth was probably a new capital, beyond the Arnon, now adorned with “palaces” and enlarged, as “Paris, Prague, Cracow , “London, are composed of different towns. In Jerome’s time, it had probably ceased to be . Shall die with tumult - Jeremiah, when prophesying the destruction of Moab, designates it by this same name “sons of tumult Jer 48:45. A flame shall devour the corner of Moab and the crown of the sons of tumult.” And probably herein he explains the original prophecy of Balaam, “shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of tumult” Num 24:17. […]
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְשִׁלַּחְתִּי־ | veshilachti- | and I will send forth | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֵ֣שׁ | ʾesh | a fire | H784 → | 378 times |
| בְּמוֹאָ֔ב | bemoav | on Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| וְאָכְלָ֖ה | veakhelah | and it will consume | H398 → | 810 times |
| אַרְמְנ֣וֹת | ʾarmenot | [the] fortresses of | H759 → | 32 times |
| הַקְּרִיּ֑וֹת | hakeriyot | <the> Kerioth | H7152 → | |
| וּמֵ֤ת | umet | and it will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| בְּשָׁאוֹן֙ | beshaon | in uproar | H7588 → | |
| מוֹאָ֔ב | moav | Moab | H4124 → | 181 times |
| בִּתְרוּעָ֖ה | bitruah | with a shout of alarm | H8643 → | |
| בְּק֥וֹל | bekol | with [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| שׁוֹפָֽר׃ | shofar | a trumpet | H7782 → |
וְשִׁלַּחְתִּי־and I will send forth
veshilachti-H7971 →845 times
אֵ֣שׁa fire
ʾeshH784 →378 times
בְּמוֹאָ֔בon Moab
bemoavH4124 →181 times
וְאָכְלָ֖הand it will consume
veakhelahH398 →810 times
אַרְמְנ֣וֹת[the] fortresses of
ʾarmenotH759 →32 times
הַקְּרִיּ֑וֹת<the> Kerioth
hakeriyotH7152 →
וּמֵ֤תand it will die
umetH4191 →839 times
בְּשָׁאוֹן֙in uproar
beshaonH7588 →
מוֹאָ֔בMoab
moavH4124 →181 times
בִּתְרוּעָ֖הwith a shout of alarm
bitruahH8643 →
בְּק֥וֹלwith [the] sound of
bekolH6963 →506 times
שׁוֹפָֽר׃a trumpet
shofarH7782 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 9:5For every trampling boot of battle and every garment rolled in blood will be burned as fuel for the fire.
it leads to
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8
in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.
- Psalms 46:9
He makes wars to cease throughout the earth; He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; He burns the shields in the fire.
- Isaiah 30:33
For Topheth has long been prepared; it has been made ready for the king. Its funeral pyre is deep and wide, with plenty of fire and wood. The breath of the LORD, like a…
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8
Through
Jeremiah 48:34There is a cry from Heshbon to Elealeh; they raise their voices to Jahaz, from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah; for even the waters of Nimrim have dried up.
it leads to
- Isaiah 15:4–6
Heshbon and Elealeh cry out; their voices are heard as far as Jahaz. Therefore the soldiers of Moab cry out; their souls tremble within.
- Numbers 32:3
“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,
- Isaiah 15:4–6
Through
Amos 1:14So I will kindle a fire in the walls of Rabbah to consume its citadels amid war cries on the day of battle and a violent wind on the day of tempest.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 49:2
Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will sound the battle cry against Rabbah of the Ammonites. It will become a heap of ruins, and its villages will be burned.…
- Jeremiah 49:2
Through
Jeremiah 48:41Kirioth has been taken, and the strongholds seized. In that day the heart of Moab’s warriors will be like the heart of a woman in labor.
it leads to
- Isaiah 13:8
Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them; they will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another, their faces flushed with fear.
- Isaiah 21:3
Therefore my body is filled with anguish. Pain grips me, like the pains of a woman in labor. I am bewildered to hear, I am dismayed to see.
- Isaiah 13:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Amos
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Amos; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.