Amos 8
Contemporary English Version
A Basket of Fruit
8 The Lord God showed me a basket of ripe fruit 2 and asked, “Amos, what do you see?”
“A basket of ripe fruit,” I replied.
Then he said,
“This is the end[a]
for my people Israel.
I won't forgive them again.
3 Instead of singing
in the temple,
they will cry and weep.
Dead bodies will be everywhere.
So keep silent!
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Israel Is Doomed
The Lord said:
4 You people crush those in need
and wipe out the poor.
5 You say to yourselves,
“How much longer before the end
of the New Moon Festival?
When will the Sabbath[b] be over?
Our wheat is ready,
and we want to sell it now.
We can't wait to cheat
and charge high prices
for the grain we sell.
We will use dishonest scales
6 and mix dust in the grain.
Those who are needy and poor
don't have any money.
We will make them our slaves
for the price
of a pair of sandals.”
7 I, the Lord, won't forget
any of this,
though you take great pride
in your ancestor Jacob.[c]
8 Your country will tremble,
and you will mourn.
It will be like the Nile River
that rises and overflows,
then sinks back down.
9 On that day, I, the Lord God,
will make the sun
go down at noon,
and I will turn daylight
into darkness.
10 Your festivals and joyful singing
will turn into sorrow.
You will wear sackcloth[d]
and shave your heads,
as you would at the death
of your only son.
It will be a horrible day.
11 I, the Lord, also promise you
a terrible shortage,
but not of food and water.
You will hunger and thirst
to hear my message.
12 You will search everywhere—
from north to south,
from east to west.
You will go all over the earth,
seeking a message
from me, the Lord.
But you won't find one.
13 Your beautiful young women
and your young men
will faint from thirst.
14 You made promises
to the goddess Ashimah
at Samaria;
you made vows to other gods
at the shrines
of Dan and Beersheba.[e]
So now you will fall
and never get up.
Footnotes
- 8.2 end: In Hebrew “ripe fruit” and “end” sound alike.
- 8.5 New Moon Festival … Sabbath: Selling grain at these times was forbidden by the Law of Moses.
- 8.7 though … Jacob: Or “though I am the God that Jacob proudly worshiped.”
- 8.10 sackcloth: A rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and used to make grain sacks. It was worn in times of trouble or sorrow.
- 8.14 You made … Beersheba: Or “You made promises to the goddess Ashimah at Samaria, and you made vows in the names of other gods at the shrines of Dan and Beersheba.”
Amós 8
Nueva Biblia de las Américas
Los inevitables juicios de Dios
8 Esto me mostró el Señor Dios: Miré una canasta de fruta de verano, 2 y Él me preguntó: «¿Qué ves, Amós?». «Una canasta de fruta(A) de verano», respondí. Entonces el Señor me dijo: «Ha llegado el fin(B) para Mi pueblo Israel. Ya no volveré a dejarlos sin castigo(C). 3 Los cantos(D) del palacio se convertirán en gemido(E) en aquel día», declara el Señor Dios. «Muchos serán los cadáveres; en todo lugar los echarán fuera en silencio(F)».
4 Oigan esto, los que pisotean a los menesterosos, y quieren exterminar a los pobres de la tierra(G), 5 diciendo:
«¿Cuándo pasará la luna nueva(H)
Para vender el grano,
Y el día de reposo(I) para abrir el mercado de trigo,
Achicar el efa (una medida de 22 litros), aumentar el siclo (moneda hebrea, 11.4 gramos de plata)
Y engañar con balanzas falsas(J);
6 Para comprar por dinero a los desvalidos
Y a los pobres por un par de sandalias(K),
Y vender los desechos del trigo?».
7 ¶El Señor ha jurado(L) por el orgullo de Jacob(M):
«Ciertamente, nunca me olvidaré de ninguna de sus obras(N).
8 -»¿No temblará por esto la tierra(O),
Y hará duelo todo aquel que habita en ella(P)?
Subirá toda ella como el Nilo(Q),
Se agitará
Y disminuirá como el Nilo de Egipto.
9 -»Y sucederá que en aquel día», declara el Señor Dios,
«Yo haré que el sol se ponga al mediodía
Y que la tierra en pleno día se oscurezca(R).
10 -»Entonces cambiaré sus fiestas en llanto(S)
Y todos sus cantos en lamento.
Pondré cilicio sobre todo lomo
Y calvicie sobre toda cabeza(T).
Haré que sea como duelo por hijo único,
Y su fin, como día de amargura(U).
11 ¶»Vienen días», declara el Señor Dios,
«En que enviaré hambre sobre la tierra,
No hambre de pan, ni sed de agua,
Sino de oír las palabras del Señor(V).
12 -»La gente vagará de mar a mar,
Y del norte hasta el oriente;
Andarán de aquí para allá en busca de la palabra del Señor,
Pero no la encontrarán(W).
13 -»En aquel día las vírgenes hermosas
Y los jóvenes(X) desfallecerán de sed(Y).
14 -»Los que juran por el pecado de Samaria(Z),
Y dicen: “Viva tu dios, oh Dan(AA)”,
Y “Viva el camino de Beerseba(AB)”,
Caerán y nunca más se levantarán(AC)».
Amos 8
New King James Version
Vision of the Summer Fruit
8 Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, a basket of summer fruit. 2 And He said, “Amos, what do you see?”
So I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”
Then the Lord said to me:
(A)“The end has come upon My people Israel;
(B)I will not pass by them anymore.
3 And (C)the songs of the temple
Shall be wailing in that day,”
Says the Lord God—
“Many dead bodies everywhere,
(D)They shall be thrown out in silence.”
4 Hear this, you who [a]swallow up the needy,
And make the poor of the land fail,
5 Saying:
“When will the New Moon be past,
That we may sell grain?
And (E)the Sabbath,
That we may [b]trade wheat?
(F)Making the ephah small and the shekel large,
Falsifying the scales by (G)deceit,
6 That we may buy the poor for (H)silver,
And the needy for a pair of sandals—
Even sell the bad wheat?”
7 The Lord has sworn by (I)the pride of Jacob:
“Surely (J)I will never forget any of their works.
8 (K)Shall the land not tremble for this,
And everyone mourn who dwells in it?
All of it shall swell like [c]the River,
Heave and subside
(L)Like the River of Egypt.
9 “And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God,
(M)“That I will make the sun go down at noon,
And I will darken the earth in [d]broad daylight;
10 I will turn your feasts into (N)mourning,
(O)And all your songs into lamentation;
(P)I will bring sackcloth on every waist,
And baldness on every head;
I will make it like mourning for an only son,
And its end like a bitter day.
11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But (Q)of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
But shall (R)not find it.
Copyright © 1995 by American Bible Society For more information about CEV, visit www.bibles.com and www.cev.bible.
Nueva Biblia de las Américas™ NBLA™ Copyright © 2005 por The Lockman Foundation
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
