Amos — Chapter 2

Propter tria scelera Israel et propter quattuor

The rhetorical formula 'for three transgressions and for four' is explained by à Lapide as a Hebrew idiom signifying the full measure of accumulated guilt. The selling of the righteous for silver anticipates Judas's betrayal of Christ for thirty pieces; à Lapide cites Jerome and Cyril of Alexandria on this typological connection. Social injustice and cultic fornication are inseparable in the prophetic critique.