Add parallel Print Page Options

I saw Adonai standing beside the altar, and he said,

“Strike the tops of the columns until the thresholds shake!
Smash them to pieces on the heads of all the people!
Those who remain I will kill with the sword;
not one of them will succeed in fleeing,
not one of them will escape.
If they dig down to Sh’ol,
my hand will haul them out;
if they climb up to heaven,
I will bring them down.
If they hide themselves on the top of the Karmel,
I will search them out and capture them there;
If they hide from me at the bottom of the sea,
I will order the serpent to bite them there.
If their enemies herd them into exile,
I will order the sword to kill them there.
I will fix my gaze on them
for harm and not for good.”

For Adonai Elohim-Tzva’ot
is the one who can melt the earth with his touch,
and make all who live on it mourn.
It will all rise, just like the Nile,
and then subside, like the Nile in Egypt.
He builds his upper rooms in heaven
and establishes his sky-vault over the earth.
He summons the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the earth.
Adonai is his name.

“People of Isra’el, are you any different
from the Ethiopians to me?” asks Adonai.
“True, I brought Isra’el up from Egypt,
but I also brought the P’lishtim from Kaftor,
and Aram from Kir.
Look, the eyes of Adonai Elohim
are on the sinful kingdom.
I will wipe it off the face of the earth,
yet I will not completely destroy
the house of Ya‘akov,” says Adonai.

“For when I give the order,
I will shake the house of Isra’el,
there among all the Goyim,
as one shakes with a sieve,
letting no grain fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners among my people
who say, ‘Disaster will never overtake us
or confront us,’ will die by the sword.

11 “When that day comes, I will raise up
the fallen sukkah of David.
I will close up its gaps, raise up its ruins
and rebuild it as it used to be,
12 so that Isra’el can possess
what is left of Edom
and of all the nations bearing my name,”
says Adonai, who is doing this.
13 “The days will come,” says Adonai,
“when the plowman will overtake the reaper
and the one treading grapes the one sowing seed.
Sweet wine will drip down the mountains,
and all the hills will flow with it.
14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Isra’el;
they will rebuild and inhabit the ruined cities;
they will plant vineyards and drink their wine,
cultivate gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant them on their own soil,
no more to be uprooted
from their land, which I gave them,”
says Adonai your God.

No Escaping His Eyes

I saw my Lord standing by the altar, and He said:

“Strike the tops of the pillars,
    so the porches shake!
Break all of them off at the head!
Then the last of them I will slay with the sword—
    none of them fleeing will escape
    and no fugitive will slip away.
If they should dig down to Sheol,
from there My hand will take them.
If they should go up to heaven,
from there will I bring them down.
If they should hide themselves at the top of Carmel,
I will search them out and take them from there.
If they hide themselves from My eyes at the bottom of the sea,
from there I will command the sea serpent to bite them.
If they should go into captivity before their enemies,
from there I will command the sword to slay them.
I will set My eyes upon them for calamity
    and not for prosperity.”

My Lord is Adonai-Tzva’ot.
It is He who touches the land so it melts,
and all its inhabitants will mourn.
Then it will surge like all the Nile,
and sink again like the Nile of Egypt.
He who builds His upper stories in heaven
    fitted its vault over the earth.
He who summons the waters of the sea
    and pours them out on the face of the earth
Adonai is His Name.

“Are you not like the children
    of the Cushites to Me, Bnei-Yisrael?”
It is the declaration of Adonai.
“Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt,
    the Philistines from Caphtor, and Aram from Kir?”
Behold, the eyes of my Lord Adonai are on the sinful kingdom.
So I will utterly destroy it from the face of the earth.
Nevertheless, I will not annihilate the house of Jacob.”
It is a declaration of Adonai.
“For behold, I have commanded,
and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations,
like grain being tossed in a sieve,
without a pebble falling to the ground.
10 By the sword shall all the sinners
    of My people die,
those who say:
‘The calamity will not overtake or confront us.’

David’s Sukkah Restored

11 “In that day I will raise up David’s fallen sukkah.[a]
I will restore its breaches,
    raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in days of old
12 —so they may possess the remnant of Edom
    and all the nations called by My Name.”
It is a declaration of Adonai, the One who will do this.
13 “Behold, days are soon coming”
—it is a declaration of Adonai
“when the plowman will overtake the reaper
    and the one treading grapes, the one sowing seed.
The mountains will drip sweet wine
    and all the hills will melt over.
14 Yes, I will restore the captivity of My people Israel.
They will rebuild desolated cities and dwell in them.
They will plant vineyards and drink their wine.
They will also make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 Yes, I will plant them on their land,
and they will never again be plucked up
    out of their land that I have given to them.”
Adonai, your God, has said it.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:11 cf. Acts 15:16-18.