For the prophet had no mission to them; he only declares to Israel the ground of the visitation which was to come upon them. Nature takes its own time. Amos condemns violent aggression (perhaps even torture and wanton killing), enslavement of populations, and the slave trade. The city of Damascus was called under judgment because that nation threshed Gilead with implements of iron (Amos 1:3) or behaved with unnecessary cruelty against a conquered people. God pictures Syria's cruelty toward Gilead (in northeast Israel) as a threshing sledge being run over His people. And since they had no root, they withered away. Such atrocities would not be unknown in the ancient world. The language about Tyre is almost exactly the same as how Amos describes Gaza. Rather, they were guilty of a huge quantity of sins, which the prophet described as three transgressions even four.. The stream thus collected is led off to a lower level, where it comes to the surface. It lay on the best route from the interior of Asia to the Mediterranean, to Tyre, and even to Egypt. Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear., 2 Chronicles 24:1-26:23 Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. And the rock badger, because it chews the cud but does not part the hoof, is unclean to you. These are the men of Recah. The farmer has something to do every day. Abijam was in league with the father of Benhadad 1 Kings 15:19. . E You shall not let your cattle breed with a different kind. Three years it shall be forbidden to you; it must not be eaten. because they have threshed Gilead. Blessed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. God also said He will cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Aven. No, he does not thresh it forever; when he drives his cart wheel over it with his horses, he does not crush it.Matthew 13:3-8 And he told them many things in parables, saying: A sower went out to sow. ABUNDANCE OR JUDGMENT. Damascus, Gaza and Tyrethree important cities in the region of Israel and Judahare called to account for their actions by a shepherd from Judah. In the days of Jehu, Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel from Jordan eastward; all the land of Gilead, the Gadites and the Reubenites and the Manassites, from Arorer which is by the River Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan 2 Kings 10:32-33; in those of Jehoahaz, Jehus son, he oppressed them, neither did he leave of the people to Jehoahaz but fifty horsemen and ten chariots, and ten thousand footmen, for the king of Syria had destroyed them, and had made them like the dust by threshing 2 Kings 13:7. Seldom, said pagan experience, hath punishment with lingering foot parted with the miscreant, advancing before.. , Deuteronomy 22:10 You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together.Hebrews 6:7 For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God.Deuteronomy 22:9-11 You shall not sow your vineyard with two kinds of seed, lest the whole yield be forfeited, the crop that you have sown and the yield of the vineyard. Joel 2:24 speaks of that abundance as a sign of God's blessing if the people repent: "The threshing floors will be filled with grain. Although Israel and Judah were the primary audience of Gods message delivered through Amos, six other cities and nations Damascus, Gaza, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, Moab were also indicted. Damascus and Samaria (Israel) fought over this area for a hundred years or more. Proverb: Because of the three transgressions of and because of four, I will not cause (him/it) to return.. Nor will they say, Look, here it is! or There! for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.. Turn away . Luke 9:62 Jesus said to him, No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.Isaiah 28:28 Does one crush grain for bread? I really like this study. even for four in chapters 12? The sons of Kenaz: Othniel and Seraiah; and the sons of Othniel: Hathath and Meonothai. Are you not of more value than they?Isaiah 28:27 Dill is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over cumin, but dill is beaten out with a stick, and cumin with a rod.Matthew 13:23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. If you walk in my statutes and observe my commandments and do them, then I will give you your rains in their season, and the land shall yield its increase, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit. The Arameans have crushed [the people of] Gilead with iron-spiked threshing sledges. This was usually done by spreading the stalks of grain several inches deep on a smooth flat area that was on a high piece of ground open to the wind. After he is created by God, he is placed in charge of the Garden of Eden. Yet this was as nothing. J Probably not the punishment in itself alone, but the attempt so to extirpate the people of God brought down this judgment on Damascus. As a result of God breaking the gate bar of Damascus, the people of Aram would go exiled to Kir. Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox! Because she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth, 4 I will send fire on the house of Hazael that will consume the fortresses of Ben-Hadad. Benhadad at once broke his league with Baasha at the request of Asa in his later mistrustful days 1 Chronicles 16:2-7, and turned against Baasha (1 Chronicles 16:2-7 and 1 Kings 15:20). , Leviticus 19:19 You shall keep my statutes. Weeds have to be removed, the land watered, and fertilizer added. , Deuteronomy 28:8 TheLordwill command the blessing on you in your barns and in all that you undertake. Isaiah 7:8 For the head of Syria is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people. After this Joash decided to restore the house of theLord. Proverbs 12:11 says, Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.Proverbs 28:19 says, He that tilleth his land shall have plenty of bread: but he that followeth after vainpersonsshall have poverty enough. Deuteronomy 28:12 says, The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. How Daniels Prophecy of 70 Weeks Connects to the End Times. The two on the northern side water Salahiyeh at the foot of the hills about a mile from the city, and then irrigate the higher portions of the plain to the distance of nearly twenty miles. So I will send a fire upon the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-. Five of these canals are led off from the river at different elevations, before it enters the plain. But it supported a population far beyond what that space would maintain in Europe. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. Thus says the Lord: "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. Amos 1:3 Parallel Verses [ See commentary ] Amos 1:3, NIV: This is what the LORD says: 'For three sins of Damascus, even for four, I will not relent.Because she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth, Amos 1:3, ESV: Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges . 306: -. Hazael probably became the instrument of God in chastening Israel, while he was avenging Jehus submission to a power whom he dreaded and from whom he had suffered. And as we are faithful to the Lord our God, He will bless the works of our hands and make them successful. Silence is often more emphatic than words. Amos 1:3-5 (ESV) Thus says the LORD: "For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. Your clothing did not wear out on you and your foot did not swell these forty years. It was at that time probably a subordinate power, whether on the ground of the personal eminence of Hadadezer king of Zobah, or any other. at least and that is a COMPARED TO WHAT document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ). Neglect a relationship and just like a field left unplowed, weeds will overrun everything and whatever was planted will die. Salem Media Group. The threshing sledge is also an allegory. " (Cf. Today, more and more people are moving away from rural areas where farming is highly practiced and into cities characterized by industrialization. Genesis 1:11 says, Then God said, Let the land produce vegetation:seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds. And it was so. " You shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff. For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four. The advantage of its site doubtless occastoned its early choice. Joash, king of Judah, bought him off, when advancing against Jerusalem, with everything of gold, consecrated or civil, in the temple or in his own treasures 2 Kings 12:18. A busy threshing floor was a symbol of a plentiful harvest; a bare one indicated famine, and perhaps God's judgment. You shall not wear cloth of wool and linen mixed together., Luke 10:2 And he said to them, The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. The brief notice, that through Naaman the Lord gave deliverance to Syria 2 Kings 5:1, probably refers to some signal check which Assyria received through him. What Does It Really Mean That Your Body Is a Temple? Hazael was the king of Damascus in the second half of the ninth century BC, while Ben-hadad was his son and successor (2 Kgs. Amos specifically notes one defining cultural sin. Isaiah 17:1 The burden of Damascus. Notice that the illustrations that Jesus needed to make His points were literally all around Him. Such an attraction caused the Arameans to thresh the Israelites of Gilead with implements of sharp iron. 10:3233). Amos 1 contains a brief historical account on the prophetic ministry of Amos, providing the reader with the date of Amoss ministry and how the LORD has called him to minister to Israel. Thus saith the LORD; For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away. On the west and north its plain lay sheltered under the range of Anti-libanus; on the east, it was protected by the great desert which intervened between its oasis-territory and the Euphrates. It is still the capital of modern Syria today. The last grace of God, whether sealing up the former graces of those who use them, or vouchsafed to those who have wasted them, is the crowning act of His love or forbearance. But although the fourth drew down His judgment, God, at the last, punishes not the last sin only, but all which went before. Contact me: openbibleinfo (at) gmail.com. All the fields have to be checked. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2023 John Mark Hicks. Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? Genesis 8:22 While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.Isaiah 9:3 You have multiplied the nation; you have increased its joy; they rejoice before you as with joy at the harvest, as they are glad when they divide the spoil.Deuteronomy 11:14 He will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil.Zechariah 10:1 Ask rain from theLordin the season of the spring rain, from theLordwho makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field.2 Samuel 24:22 Then Araunah said to David, Let my lord the king take and offer up what seems good to him. 5 I will break the gate bars of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven, and the one who holds the scepter from Beth-eden; You will be challenged and encouraged to be one who is firmly . 13:3, 2225). (LogOut/ Y "Thrice happy Greeks! The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. The animals have to be cared for. john mark Publication date: Jun 3, 2010. The Bible says a lot about agriculture and farming. Immediately, it was bounded by the three lakes which receive the surplus of the waters which enrich it. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.Deuteronomy 28:8 says, The LORD will send a blessing on your barns and on everything you put your hand to. Because she threshed Gilead with sledges having iron teeth, This is what the LORD says: 'For three offenses of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke its. as the Targum; this country lay beyond Jordan, and was inhabited by the Reubenites and Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh; who were used in a very cruel manner, by Hazael king of Syria, as was foretold by Elisha, 2 Kings 7:12; not literally, as in 2 Samuel 12:31; but by him they were beat, oppressed, and crushed, as the grain of the threshingfloor; which used to be threshed out by means of a wooden instrument stuck with iron teeth, the top of which was filled with stones to press it down, and so drawn to and fro over the sheaves of corn, by which means it was beaten out, to which the allusion is here; See Gill on 1 Corinthians 9:9. The power and strength of Damascus would be broken. Benhadad and Hazael encouraged only marauding expeditions against Israel during the 14 years of Ahaziah and Jehoram. Isaiah 8:4 For before the child shall have knowledge to cry, My father, and my mother, the riches of Damascus and the spoil of Samaria shall be taken away before the king of Assyria. Holman Old Testament Commentary: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah by Trent Butler. Almeida Atualizada (Portuguese) for Ams 1:3, La Biblia de las Amricas (Espaol) for Ams 1:3, Common English Bible w/ Apocrypha for Amos 1:3, Holman Christian Standard Bible for Amos 1:3, Giovanni Diodati 1649 (Italian) for Amos 1:3, Good News Translation w/ Apocrypha for Amos 1:3, King James Version w/ Apocrypha for Amos 1:3, Septuagint Bible w/ Apocrypha for Amos 1:3, New International Reader's Version for Amos 1:3, New Revised Standard w/ Apocrypha for Amos 1:3, Revised Standard Version w/ Apocrypha for Amos 1:3, La Biblia Reina-Valera (Espaol) for Ams 1:3, Sagradas Escrituras (1569) (Espaol) for Ams 1:3, Third Millennium Bible w/ Apocrypha for Amos 1:3, The Latin Vulgate w/ Apocrypha for Amos 1:3, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete). I am enjoying the study and appreciate your effort and willingness to share. Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt: You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities. The vats will overflow with new wine and olive oil.". The amount of rain, the cool of the nights, the warmth of the days, soil conditions, insects, and many others. instead of the traditional point of view because of our westernization of the good news. Jehoiada got for him two wives, and he had sons and daughters. . Very, very exceedingly; and so it was used among the ancient Greek and Latin poets. If Amoss preaching bears witness to his insistence that nations need to acknowledge their sin, should not our preaching do the same? All these nations fall under the divine judgment because each has committed offenses against the holy God. Publisher: OpenBible.info. Damascus (Syria, also called Aram) "threshed" Gilead. Amos 1:3 . (LogOut/ because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. Judging, probably, of Davids defensive conquests by its own policy, it joined the other Syrians who attacked David, was subdued, garrisoned, and became tributary 2 Samuel 8:5-6. As the sledge was pulled over the threshing floor the stones or iron teeth would separate the grain from the stalks. Because they have threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron - The instrument, Jerome relates here, was "a sort of wain, rolling on iron wheels beneath, set with teeth; so that it both threshed out the grain and bruised the straw and cut it in pieces, as food for the cattle, for lack of hay." A similar instrument, called by nearly . Labs Some believe that the Syrians used threshing tools with iron teeth to torture or kill prisoners, pregnant women and children. But in the fifth year you may eat of its fruit, to increase its yield for you: I am theLordyour God., 1 Corinthians 3:6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.Psalm 85:12 Yes, theLordwill give what is good, and our land will yield its increase.Hebrews 13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.Matthew 3:12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.. More than a Bible handbook but less than a commentary, Nelson's New Illustrated Old Testament Survey provides a section by section breakdown of issues and topics dealt with in the Hebrew Scriptures. They journeyed to the entrance of Gedor, to the east side of the valley, to seek pasture for their flocks, where they found rich, good pasture, and the land was very broad, quiet, and peaceful, for the former inhabitants there belonged to Ham. English Standard Version. For three transgressions and for four - These words express, not four transgressions added to the three, but an additional transgression beyond the former, the last sin, whereby the measure of sin, which before was full, overflows, and Gods wrath comes. The city of Gilead was an Israelite region located on the eastern side of the Jordan River, just south of Damascus. I will break the gate bars of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven, and the one who holds the scepter . Philistia removed Judeans who lived in the lush farmland of the Judean foothills to the desert regions of Edom (cf. Gods mercy holds back the punishment long, allowing only some slight tokens of His displeasure to show themselves, that the sinful soul or people may not be unwarned. And behold, your sheaves gathered around it and bowed down to my sheaf.1 Kings 5:11 While Solomon gave Hiram 20,000 cors of wheat as food for his household, and 20,000 cors of beaten oil. He condemns violent aggression (perhaps even torture and wanton killing), enslavement of populations, and the slave trade. , John 4:35 Do you not say, There are yet four months, then comes the harvest? I will not turn away the punishment thereof - Literally, I will not turn it back. What was this, which God would not turn back? We need only look at the history of nations, including the United States, to know that these kinds of atrocities have happened over and over. So does the wisest of us in living. The community or people to which Amos refers is Judah. The consequences, however, are essentially the samefire will burn destroy the cities/citadels (1:7, 10, 12). What Does the Bible Say About Husbands and Wives? 14-15) Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson. From the standpoint of the synergistic point of view of Sanders,Dunn,and Wright. Revised Standard Version w/ Apocrypha. , 1 Chronicles 4:10-41 Jabez called upon the God of Israel, saying, Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me, and that you would keep me from harm so that it might not bring me pain! And God granted what he asked. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. Amos 1:6,9-2:16 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: . For we are Gods fellow workers. Soul-murder is worse than physical murder, and requires more devilish art. Threshing SledgeThe purpose of threshing was to separate usable grain from the waste straw or chaff. Proverbs 12:11 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits lacks sense.Proverbs 28:19 Whoever works his land will have plenty of bread, but he who follows worthless pursuits will have plenty of poverty.Deuteronomy 28:12 The LORD will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. Randall. Then in the third year sow and reap and plant vineyards, and eat their fruit.Matthew 13:1-58 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Fewer and fewer of us grew up on farms, and thus, we miss a lot of subtle points Jesus is making in some of His stories. Here in Amos, we see that the people of Damascus rebelled against the LORD because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron. With lifted hands and eyes invokes relief. Here in Amos, we see that the people of Damascus rebelled against the LORD because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron. They each follow the same rhetorical pattern. . C 16:9). P When the Jews killed the Son, there, came on them all the righteous bloodshed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias, son of Barachias Matthew 23:35-36; Luke 11:50-51. 1 Samuel 27:8-12). The rule then is; give without bounds; when that whole is fulfilled, still give. Again in that series of sayings in the book of Proverbs Proverbs 30:15-16. threshedReverso Context-: Rock threshing floors: seeds were threshed there with the help of animals. vii., c. 6: ; "Those men shall be thrice and four times happy.". [5] I will break the bar of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of Aven, and him that holds the scepter from Beth-eden; A heavy wooden plank, 2 or 3 feet by 5 or 6 feet, with sharp spikes on the bottom, when oxen pulled it over a grain field the grain was separated from stalks and weeds. For their brutality, Syria is promised judgment. Whatever parts the hoof and is cloven-footed and chews the cud, among the animals, you may eat. 3 Thus says the Lord,For three transgressions of Damascus and for fourI will not revoke its punishment,Because they threshed Gilead with implements of sharp iron.4So I will send fire upon the house of HazaelAnd it will consume the citadels of Ben-hadad.5 I will also break the gate bar of Damascus,And cut off the inhabitant from the valley of Aven,And him who holds the scepter, from Beth-eden;So the people of Aram will go exiled to Kir,Says the LORD. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. Benhadad promised to restore the cities which his father had taken from Israel, and to make an Israel-quarter in Damascus 1 Kings 20:34. You cant speed that up. 3 Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, [] because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron. Thus the Church and members of the community of the Father sotra kinda Dont relate to the Process of the Hardened Hart and the compounded consequences of the deceitfulness of being habitually unfaithful in the little ways which bring about the cruelty of Amoss day. An example of Damascuss war against Israel is found in 2 Kings 10 where Hazael [the king of Damascus] defeated them throughout the territory of Israel: from the Jordan eastward, all the land of Gilead, the Gadites and the Reubenites and the Manassites, from Aroer, which is by the valley of the Arnon, even Gilead and Bashan (2 Kgs. Amoss prophecy concerning Damascus was probably fulfilled in 732 BC when the Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser III captured the city, weakening it for the rest of the Old Testament period (2 Kgs. F The names Hazael and Ben-hadad, two kings of Aram, are also known from 2 Kings 8. Not the ethics and the morality of the fathers community. It shall be a year of solemn rest for the land. The smart farmer knows when the moment is ready. If they who sinned without law, perished without law Romans 2:12, how much more should they who have sinned in the law, be judged by the law. Gods judgments rolled round like a thunder-cloud, passing from land to land, giving warning of their approach, at last to gather and center on Israel itself, except it repent. They are a good reminder of what is required from us every day of our own lives. And you shall remember the whole way that theLordyour God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not. How then could it refuse to believe of itself, what it believed of others like itself? Animals have to be fed, crops have to be watered and fertilized, and it doesnt matter how the farmer feels on that particular day. Many factors can control the time it takes for the crop to ripen. What then shall we say to these things? 4 So I will send a fire on the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the strongholds of Ben-hadad. Tyre is condemned for the same sin as Gazathe deportation and sale of whole communities (cf. Gaza sent whole communities into exile to Edom. Stated differently, the cities/nations would not be judged merely because of one transgression or even two. The LORD pronounces judgment on the inhabitants of Damascus because they slaughtered the people of Gilead. Farming takes time. M And in the fourth year all its fruit shall be holy, an offering of praise to theLord. In pagan poetry also, as a trace of a mystery which they had forgotten, three is a sacred whole; from where thrice and fourfold blessed stands among them for something exceeding even a full and perfect blessing, a super-abundance of blessings. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. The house of Hazael referred to any of the descendants of Hazael, including Ben-hadad. Copyright 2002-2023 Got Questions Ministries. For each oracle, Amos confirmed his prophetic call with the statement Thus says the LORD (Am. Why Did Jesus Talk So Much About Agriculture? Please support us by disabling these ads blocker. Taught by the face of creation around them, where the course of every tiny rivulet, as it burst from the rocks, was marked by a rich luxuriance, the Damascenes of old availed themselves of the continual supply from the snows of Hermon or the heights of Anti-libanus, with a systematic diligence, of which, in our northern clime, as we have no need, so we have no idea. You shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor shall you wear a garment of cloth made of two kinds of material.Isaiah 17:10-11 For you have forgotten the God of your salvation and have not remembered the Rock of your refuge; therefore, though you plant pleasant plants and sow the vine-branch of a stranger, though you make them grow on the day that you plant them, and make them blossom in the morning that you sow, yet the harvest will flee away in a day of grief and incurable pain., 2 Timothy 2:6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.James 5:7 Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. summed up by the word. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. The order of Gods threatenings seems to have been addressed to gain the hearing of the people. The flail, a pair of connected sticks used to beat the grain, evolved from the early method of using a single stick.It, with the earlier methods, was described by Pliny the Elder in his first-century CE Natural History: "The cereals are threshed in some places with the threshing board on the threshing floor; in others they are trampled by a train of horses, and in others they are beaten with . Before this, Scripture speaks of the people only of Damascus, not of their kings. God was and is seeking usfor He will separate usable grain from the waste straw or chaff. 3 Thus says Yahweh, "For three transgressions of Damascus and for four I will not revoke the punishment, because they threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron! I will not turn away the punishment thereof. You shall not plow with an ox and a donkey together. In that the prophet says, not, for the fourth, but for three transgressions and for four, he expresses at once, that God did not punish until the last sin, by which the iniquity of the sinful nation became full Genesis 15:16, and that, then, He punished for all, for the whole mass of sin described by the three, and for the fourth also. And he said: The Lord roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers. Thus says the Lord: For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.