Amos 1:11

because he did pursue his brother with the sword Edom and Israel are frequently spoken of as -brethren" (Deuteronomy 2:4; Deuteronomy 23:7; Obadiah 1:10; Obadiah 1:12; cf. Genesis 27:40-41): they were more closely related to each other than was either to any of their other neighbours: and the unbrotherly attitude assumed too often by Edom towards Israel is the head and front of his offence. Cf. Obadiah 1:10 (of the behaviour of Edom at the time when Jerusalem was taken by the Chaldaeans; see Amos 1:11), "For the violence done to thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever."

and did cast off all pity and corrupted (or destroyed) his compassion, i.e. suppressed, or stifled, the natural instinct of tender regard which a person would normally cherish towards a brother, and which would render it impossible for him to -pursue" him -with the sword."

and his anger did tear perpetually For the figure, see Job 16:9. Edom's anger against his brother was ever raging, tearing (Psalms 7:2) or rending its victims, like some wild animal. But the parallelism of the following clause makes it possible that we ought to read -and retainedhis anger" (ויטר for ויטרף): see Psalms 103:9; Leviticus 19:18; Nahum 1:2 (parallel with avenge); and, as here, parallel with keep(שמר), Jeremiah 3:5 (so Pesh. Vulg. Gunning, Wellhausen and others).

and he kept his wrath for ever i.e. nursed, cherishedit: instead of letting time dissipate it, he cherished it, in a spirit of revenge, till a fresh opportunity arose for displaying it in act. This revengeful temper of Edom displayed itself especially, not in malicious words only, but also in deed, at the time when Jerusalem was taken by the Chaldaeans: see Obadiah 1:10-14; Ezekiel 25:12-14; Ezekiel 35 (where it is made, as here, the ground of predictions of desolation); cf. also Isaiah 34:5-17; Jeremiah 49:7-22; Lamentations 4:21 f.; Malachi 1:4; Joel 3:19; Psalms 137:7.