Tamaño de la fuente
Amos 5-9
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Amos 5-9
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 5
Third Summons[a]
1 Hear this word which I utter concerning you,
this dirge, house of Israel:
2 She is fallen, to rise no more,
virgin Israel;
She lies abandoned on her land,
with no one to raise her up.(A)
3 For thus says the Lord God
to the house of Israel:
The city that marched out with a thousand
shall be left with a hundred,
Another that marched out with a hundred
shall be left with ten.
4 For thus says the Lord[b]
to the house of Israel:
Seek me, that you may live,(B)
5 but do not seek Bethel;
Do not come to Gilgal,
and do not cross over to Beer-sheba;
For Gilgal shall be led into exile
and Bethel shall be no more.
6 [c]Seek the Lord, that you may live,
lest he flare up against the house of Joseph[d] like a fire
that shall consume the house of Israel, with no one to quench it.
8 The one who made the Pleiades and Orion,
who turns darkness into dawn,
and darkens day into night;
Who summons the waters of the sea,
and pours them out on the surface of the earth;(C)
9 Who makes destruction fall suddenly upon the stronghold
and brings ruin upon the fortress,
the Lord is his name.
IV. Three Woes
First Woe
7 Woe to those who turn justice into wormwood
and cast righteousness to the ground,
10 They hate those who reprove at the gate
and abhor those who speak with integrity;
11 Therefore, because you tax the destitute
and exact from them levies of grain,
Though you have built houses of hewn stone,
you shall not live in them;
Though you have planted choice vineyards,
you shall not drink their wine.(D)
12 Yes, I know how many are your crimes,
how grievous your sins:
Oppressing the just, accepting bribes,
turning away the needy at the gate.
13 (Therefore at this time the wise are struck dumb
for it is an evil time.)
14 Seek good and not evil,
that you may live;
Then truly the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be with you as you claim.
15 Hate evil and love good,
and let justice prevail at the gate;
Then it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will have pity on the remnant of Joseph.(E)
16 Therefore, thus says the Lord,
the God of hosts, the Lord:
In every square there shall be lamentation,
and in every street they shall cry, “Oh, no!”
They shall summon the farmers to wail
and the professional mourners to lament.
17 And in every vineyard there shall be lamentation
when I pass through your midst, says the Lord.
Second Woe
18 Woe to those who yearn
for the day of the Lord![e]
What will the day of the Lord mean for you?
It will be darkness, not light!(F)
19 As if someone fled from a lion
and a bear met him;
Or as if on entering the house
he rested his hand against the wall,
and a snake bit it.
20 Truly, the day of the Lord will be darkness, not light,
gloom without any brightness!
21 [f](G)I hate, I despise your feasts,
I take no pleasure in your solemnities.
22 Even though you bring me your burnt offerings and grain offerings
I will not accept them;
Your stall-fed communion offerings,
I will not look upon them.
23 Take away from me
your noisy songs;
The melodies of your harps,
I will not listen to them.
24 Rather let justice surge like waters,
and righteousness like an unfailing stream.
25 (H)Did you bring me sacrifices and grain offerings
for forty years in the desert, O house of Israel?(I)
26 Yet you will carry away Sukuth,[g] your king,
and Kaiwan, your star-image,
your gods that you have made for yourselves,(J)
27 As I exile you beyond Damascus,
says the Lord,
whose name is the God of hosts.
Chapter 6
Third Woe
1 Woe to those who are complacent in Zion,
secure on the mount of Samaria,
Leaders of the first among nations,
to whom the people of Israel turn.
2 Pass over to Calneh and see,
go from there to Hamath the great,
and down to Gath[h] of the Philistines.
Are you better than these kingdoms,
or is your territory greater than theirs?
3 You who would put off the day of disaster,
yet hasten the time of violence!
4 Those who lie on beds of ivory,
and lounge upon their couches;
Eating lambs taken from the flock,
and calves from the stall;
5 Who improvise to the music of the harp,
composing on musical instruments like David,
6 Who drink wine from bowls,
and anoint themselves with the best oils,
but are not made ill by the collapse of Joseph;
7 Therefore, now they shall be the first to go into exile,
and the carousing of those who lounged shall cease.
8 The Lord God has sworn by his very self—
an oracle of the Lord, the God of hosts:
I abhor the pride of Jacob,
I hate his strongholds,
and I will hand over the city with everything in it;(K)
9 Should there remain ten people
in a single house, these shall die.
10 When a relative or one who prepares the body picks up the remains
to carry them out of the house,
If he says to someone in the recesses of the house,
“Is anyone with you?” and the answer is, “No one,”
Then he shall say, “Silence!”
for no one must mention the name of the Lord.[i](L)
11 Indeed, the Lord has given the command
to shatter the great house to bits,
and reduce the small house to rubble.
12 Can horses run over rock,
or can one plow the sea with oxen?
Yet you have turned justice into gall,
and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,(M)
13 You who rejoice in Lodebar,
and say, “Have we not, by our own strength,
seized Karnaim[j] for ourselves?”
14 Look, I am raising up against you, house of Israel—
oracle of the Lord, the God of hosts—
A nation[k] that shall oppress you
from Lebo-hamath even to the Wadi Arabah.
V. Symbolic Visions
Chapter 7
First Vision: The Locust Swarm
1 This is what the Lord God showed me: He was forming a locust swarm when the late growth began to come up (the late growth after the king’s mowing[l]). 2 When they had finished eating the grass in the land, I said:
Forgive, O Lord God!
Who will raise up Jacob?
He is so small!
3 The Lord relented concerning this. “This shall not be,” said the Lord God.
Second Vision: The Rain of Fire
4 This is what the Lord God showed me: He was summoning a rain of fire. It had devoured the great abyss and was consuming the fields. 5 Then I said:
Cease, O Lord God!
Who will raise up Jacob?
He is so small!
6 The Lord relented concerning this. “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.
Third Vision: The Plummet
7 (N)This is what the Lord God showed me: He was standing, plummet in hand, by a wall built with a plummet.[m] 8 The Lord God asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” And I answered, “A plummet.” Then the Lord said:
See, I am laying the plummet
in the midst of my people Israel;
I will forgive them no longer.
9 The high places of Isaac shall be laid waste,
and the sanctuaries of Israel made desolate;
and I will attack the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
Biographical Interlude: Amos and Amaziah
10 Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam, king of Israel: “Amos has conspired against you within the house of Israel; the country cannot endure all his words. 11 For this is what Amos says:
‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel shall surely be exiled from its land.’”
12 To Amos, Amaziah said: “Off with you, seer, flee to the land of Judah and there earn your bread by prophesying! 13 But never again prophesy in Bethel;(O) for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.” 14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I am not a prophet,[n] nor do I belong to a company of prophets. I am a herdsman and a dresser of sycamores,(P) 15 but the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’(Q) 16 Now hear the word of the Lord:
You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
do not preach against the house of Isaac.’
17 Therefore thus says the Lord:
Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword.
Your land shall be parcelled out by measuring line,
and you yourself shall die in an unclean land;
and Israel shall be exiled from its land.”
Chapter 8
Fourth Vision: The Summer Fruit
1 This is what the Lord God showed me: a basket of end-of-summer fruit.[o] 2 He asked, “What do you see, Amos?” And I answered, “A basket of end-of-summer fruit.” And the Lord said to me:
The end has come for my people Israel;
I will forgive them no longer.
3 The temple singers will wail on that day—
oracle of the Lord God.
Many shall be the corpses,
strewn everywhere—Silence!(R)
4 Hear this, you who trample upon the needy
and destroy the poor of the land:
5 “When will the new moon be over,” you ask,
“that we may sell our grain,
And the sabbath,
that we may open the grain-bins?
We will diminish the ephah,[p]
add to the shekel,
and fix our scales for cheating!(S)
6 We will buy the destitute for silver,
and the poor for a pair of sandals;(T)
even the worthless grain we will sell!”
7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob:
Never will I forget a thing they have done!
8 Shall not the land tremble because of this,
and all who dwell in it mourn?
It will all rise up and toss like the Nile,
and subside like the river of Egypt.(U)
9 On that day—oracle of the Lord God—
I will make the sun set at midday
and in broad daylight cover the land with darkness.
10 I will turn your feasts into mourning
and all your songs into dirges.
I will cover the loins of all with sackcloth
and make every head bald.
I will make it like the time of mourning for an only child,
and its outcome like a day of bitter weeping.(V)
11 See, days are coming—oracle of the Lord God—
when I will send a famine upon the land:
Not a hunger for bread, or a thirst for water,
but for hearing the word of the Lord.
12 They shall stagger from sea to sea
and wander from north to east
In search of the word of the Lord,
but they shall not find it.(W)
13 On that day, beautiful young women and young men
shall faint from thirst,
14 Those who swear by Ashima of Samaria,[q](X)
and who say, “By the life of your god, O Dan,”
“By the life of the Power of Beer-sheba!”
They shall fall, never to rise again.
Chapter 9
Fifth Vision: The Destruction of the Sanctuary
1 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar. And he said:
Strike the capitals
so that the threshold shakes!
Break them off on the heads of them all!
Those who are left I will slay with the sword.
Not one shall get away,
no survivor shall escape.[r](Y)
2 Though they dig down to Sheol,
even from there my hand shall take them;
Though they climb to the heavens,
even from there I shall bring them down.(Z)
3 Though they hide on the summit of Carmel,
there too I will hunt them down and take them;
Though they hide from my gaze at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent[s] to bite them.(AA)
4 Though they go into captivity before their enemies,
there I will command the sword to slay them.
I will fix my gaze upon them
for evil and not for good.
5 The Lord God of hosts,
Who melts the earth with his touch,
so that all who dwell on it mourn,
So that it will all rise up like the Nile,
and subside like the river of Egypt;(AB)
6 Who has built his upper chamber in heaven,
and established his vault over the earth;
Who summons the waters of the sea
and pours them upon the surface of the earth—
the Lord is his name.(AC)
7 Are you not like the Ethiopians to me,
O Israelites?—oracle of the Lord—
Did I not bring the Israelites from the land of Egypt
as I brought the Philistines from Caphtor
and the Arameans[t] from Kir?
8 See, the eyes of the Lord God are on this sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth—
But I will not destroy the house of Jacob completely—
oracle of the Lord.
9 For see, I have given the command
to sift the house of Israel among all the nations,
As one sifts with a sieve,
letting no pebble fall to the ground.
10 All sinners among my people shall die by the sword,
those who say, “Disaster will not reach or overtake us.”(AD)
VI. Epilogue: Restoration Under a Davidic King
11 [u]On that day I will raise up
the fallen hut of David;
I will wall up its breaches,
raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old,(AE)
12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom,
and all nations claimed in my name—
oracle of the Lord, the one who does this.
13 Yes, days are coming—
oracle of the Lord—
When the one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps
and the vintager, the sower of the seed;
The mountains shall drip with the juice of grapes,
and all the hills shall run with it.(AF)
14 I will restore my people Israel,
they shall rebuild and inhabit their ruined cities,
Plant vineyards and drink[v] the wine,
set out gardens and eat the fruits.(AG)
15 I will plant them upon their own ground;
never again shall they be plucked
From the land I have given them—
the Lord, your God, has spoken.
Notas al pie
- 5:1–17 These verses form a chiastic section beginning and ending with a lament over Israel (vv. 2, 16–17) and containing a double appeal to “seek” the Lord (vv. 4, 14). This editorial arrangement gives the whole section a negative cast, in effect nullifying the only hopeful verse in Amos (v. 15). Israel is as good as dead.
- 5:4–5 For thus says the Lord…Bethel shall be no more: these two verses continue the sarcasm of 4:4–5, verses in which Amos invites the people to come and “sin” at Bethel and Gilgal. The cult cities of Samaria should have been places where God could be “sought” but, because of the sins of the Northern Kingdom, these cities would cease to exist.
- 5:6 These verses have been rearranged to achieve the proper sequence according to the best possible manuscript tradition. Cf. the Textual Notes accompanying the translation.
- 5:6 House of Joseph: the kingdom of Israel or Northern Kingdom, the chief tribes of which were descended from Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph; cf. 5:15; 6:6.
- 5:18 The day of the Lord: first mentioned in Amos, this refers to a specific time in the future, known to the Lord alone, when God’s enemies would be decisively defeated. The common assumption among Israelites was that the Lord’s foes and Israel’s foes were one and the same. But Amos makes it clear that because the people have become God’s enemies by refusing to heed the prophetic word, they too would experience the divine wrath on that fateful day. However, during the exile this expression comes to mean a time when God would avenge Israel against its oppressors and bring about its restoration (Jer 50:27; Ez 30:3–5).
- 5:21–27 The prophet does not condemn cultic activity as such but rather the people’s attempt to offer worship with hands unclean from oppression of their fellow Israelites (cf. Ps 15:2–5; 24:3–4). But worship from those who disregard justice and righteousness (v. 24) is never acceptable to the God of Israel. Through the Sinai covenant the love of God and the love of neighbor are inextricably bound together.
- 5:26 Sukuth: probably a hebraized form of Assyro-Babylonian Shukudu (“the Arrow”), a name of Sirius, the brightest star in the night sky. It was associated with the god Ninurta, who was widely worshiped in Mesopotamia. According to 2 Kgs 17:30 the cult of Sirius was introduced into Samaria by deportees from Babylonia. Kaiwan: a hebraized form of an Akkadian name for the planet Saturn, also worshiped as a deity in Mesopotamia.
- 6:2 Calneh…Hamath…Gath: city-states overcome by the Assyrians in the eighth century B.C., whose fate should be a lesson to the Israelites. The prophet castigates the leaders for being more intent on pursuing a luxurious lifestyle (vv. 1, 4–6) than reading the signs of the times.
- 6:10 In this desperate situation there seems to be a profound fear of the Lord, who is the cause of the deaths (cf. 3:6).
- 6:13 Lodebar…Karnaim: two towns recaptured from Judah by Israelite forces during the reign of Jeroboam II (see 2 Kgs 14:25). Some mockery of at least the first of these victories is probably intended by the prophet here, as Lodebar can be translated “nothing.”
- 6:14 A nation: Assyria. Lebo-hamath…Wadi Arabah: the territorial limits of Solomon’s kingdom, north and south respectively, as re-established by Jeroboam II (see 2 Kgs 14:25).
- 7:1 The king’s mowing: the first harvesting of the crops apparently belonged to the king as a kind of tax.
- 7:7 A plummet: with this vision, the pleas of the prophet (vv. 1–6) disappear, and disaster is announced. One use of the plummet in ancient times was to see how far out of line a wall or building had become, to determine whether it could be repaired or would have to be torn down. Like a structure that had become architecturally unsound, Israel was unsalvageable and would have to be demolished (cf. 2 Kgs 21:13; Is 34:11; Lam 2:8).
- 7:14 I am not a prophet: Amos reacts strongly to Amaziah’s attempt to classify him as a “prophet-for-hire” who “earns [his] bread” by giving oracles in exchange for payment (cf. 1 Sm 9:3–10; Mi 3:5). To disassociate himself from this kind of “professional” prophet, Amos rejects outright the title of nabi’ (“prophet”). By profession he is a herdsman/sheepbreeder and a dresser of sycamore trees, but God’s call has commissioned him to prophesy to Israel.
- 8:1–2 End-of-summer fruit…the end has come: the English translation attempts to capture the wordplay of the Hebrew. The Hebrew word for “fruit picked late in the season” is qayis, while the word for “end” is qes.
- 8:5 Ephah: see note on Is 5:10.
- 8:14 Ashima of Samaria: a high-ranking goddess worshiped in Hamath, whose cult was transplanted by the people of that city when they were deported to Samaria by the Assyrians (2 Kgs 17:30). The Power of Beer-sheba: possibly an epithet of a deity worshiped in Beer-sheba, either a syncretistic form of the worship of Israel’s God or of another god. Dan…Beer-sheba: the traditional designation for the northern and southern limits of Israel to which the Israelites made pilgrimages.
- 9:1 This vision may describe the destruction of the temple at Bethel and the fulfillment of the oracle in 3:14, linking God’s judgment upon Israel with the “punishment” of the altars of Bethel. This dramatic event (perhaps to be identified with the earthquake mentioned in 1:1) symbolizes the end of the Northern Kingdom as the Lord’s people, the consequence of their steadfast refusal to heed the prophetic word and return to the God of Israel.
- 9:3 The serpent: a name for the primeval chaos monster, vanquished by God at the time of creation but not annihilated. He was a personification of the sea, another primary archetype of chaos in the ancient Near East.
- 9:7 The Ethiopians…the Philistines…the Arameans: although Israel’s relationship to the Lord was special, even unique in some respects (3:2), Israel was not the only people on earth that God cared for. Striking here is the reference to divine intervention in the history of the Philistines and Arameans, not unlike the Lord’s saving intervention to bring Israel out of Egypt. Caphtor: the island of Crete.
- 9:11–15 These verses are most likely an editorial supplement to Amos, added to bring the book into harmony with the positive thrust of the prophetic books in general, especially those written after the exile, when the final edition of Amos was probably completed. The editors would have seen the destruction of Samaria in 722/721 B.C. as the fulfillment of Amos’s prophecies, but in this epilogue they express the view that destruction was not the Lord’s final word for Israel. In Acts 15:15–17, James interprets this passage in a messianic sense. The fallen hut of David: the Davidic kingdom, which included what later became the divided Northern and Southern Kingdoms. All nations claimed in my name: lit., “all nations over whom my name has been pronounced.” This idiom denotes ownership.
- 9:14 Rebuild…inhabit…plant…drink: in this era of restoration, the Lord nullifies the curse of 5:11, which uses these same four verbs, and turns it into a blessing for Israel.
Amos 5-9
New International Version
Amos 5-9
New International Version
A Lament and Call to Repentance
5 Hear this word, Israel, this lament(A) I take up concerning you:
2 “Fallen is Virgin(B) Israel,
never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
with no one to lift her up.(C)”
3 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Israel:
“Your city that marches out a thousand strong
will have only a hundred left;
your town that marches out a hundred strong
will have only ten left.(D)”
4 This is what the Lord says to Israel:
“Seek(E) me and live;(F)
5 do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,(G)
do not journey to Beersheba.(H)
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.[a](I)”
6 Seek(J) the Lord and live,(K)
or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;(L)
it will devour them,
and Bethel(M) will have no one to quench it.(N)
8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion,(R)
who turns midnight into dawn(S)
and darkens day into night,(T)
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.(U)
9 With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
and brings the fortified city to ruin.(V)
10 There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court(W)
and detest the one who tells the truth.(X)
11 You levy a straw tax on the poor(Y)
and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,(Z)
you will not live in them;(AA)
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.(AB)
12 For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.(AC)
There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes(AD)
and deprive the poor(AE) of justice in the courts.(AF)
13 Therefore the prudent keep quiet(AG) in such times,
for the times are evil.(AH)
14 Seek good, not evil,
that you may live.(AI)
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say he is.
15 Hate evil,(AJ) love good;(AK)
maintain justice in the courts.(AL)
Perhaps(AM) the Lord God Almighty will have mercy(AN)
on the remnant(AO) of Joseph.
16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:
“There will be wailing(AP) in all the streets(AQ)
and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers(AR) will be summoned to weep
and the mourners to wail.
17 There will be wailing(AS) in all the vineyards,
for I will pass through(AT) your midst,”
says the Lord.(AU)
The Day of the Lord
18 Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!(AV)
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?(AW)
That day will be darkness,(AX) not light.(AY)
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,(AZ)
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.(BA)
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness,(BB) not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?(BC)
21 “I hate,(BD) I despise your religious festivals;(BE)
your assemblies(BF) are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings(BG) and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.(BH)
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.(BI)
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.(BJ)
24 But let justice(BK) roll on like a river,
righteousness(BL) like a never-failing stream!(BM)
25 “Did you bring me sacrifices(BN) and offerings
forty years(BO) in the wilderness, people of Israel?
26 You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
the pedestal of your idols,(BP)
the star of your god[b]—
which you made for yourselves.
27 Therefore I will send you into exile(BQ) beyond Damascus,”
says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.(BR)
Woe to the Complacent
6 Woe to you(BS) who are complacent(BT) in Zion,
and to you who feel secure(BU) on Mount Samaria,(BV)
you notable men of the foremost nation,
to whom the people of Israel come!(BW)
2 Go to Kalneh(BX) and look at it;
go from there to great Hamath,(BY)
and then go down to Gath(BZ) in Philistia.
Are they better off than(CA) your two kingdoms?
Is their land larger than yours?
3 You put off the day of disaster
and bring near a reign of terror.(CB)
4 You lie on beds adorned with ivory
and lounge on your couches.(CC)
You dine on choice lambs
and fattened calves.(CD)
5 You strum away on your harps(CE) like David
and improvise on musical instruments.(CF)
6 You drink wine(CG) by the bowlful
and use the finest lotions,
but you do not grieve(CH) over the ruin of Joseph.(CI)
7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;(CJ)
your feasting and lounging will end.(CK)
The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel
8 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself(CL)—the Lord God Almighty declares:
“I abhor(CM) the pride of Jacob(CN)
and detest his fortresses;(CO)
I will deliver up(CP) the city
and everything in it.(CQ)”
9 If ten(CR) people are left in one house, they too will die. 10 And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them[c](CS) asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush!(CT) We must not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For the Lord has given the command,
and he will smash(CU) the great house(CV) into pieces
and the small house into bits.(CW)
12 Do horses run on the rocky crags?
Does one plow the sea[d] with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison(CX)
and the fruit of righteousness(CY) into bitterness(CZ)—
13 you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar[e]
and say, “Did we not take Karnaim[f] by our own strength?(DA)”
14 For the Lord God Almighty declares,
“I will stir up a nation(DB) against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
from Lebo Hamath(DC) to the valley of the Arabah.(DD)”
Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line
7 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(DE) He was preparing swarms of locusts(DF) after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. 2 When they had stripped the land clean,(DG) I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive?(DH) He is so small!(DI)”
3 So the Lord relented.(DJ)
“This will not happen,” the Lord said.(DK)
4 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire;(DL) it dried up the great deep and devoured(DM) the land. 5 Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!(DN)”
6 So the Lord relented.(DO)
“This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said.(DP)
7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,[g] with a plumb line[h] in his hand. 8 And the Lord asked me, “What do you see,(DQ) Amos?(DR)”
“A plumb line,(DS)” I replied.
Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.(DT)
9 “The high places(DU) of Isaac will be destroyed
and the sanctuaries(DV) of Israel will be ruined;
with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.(DW)”
Amos and Amaziah
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel(DX) sent a message to Jeroboam(DY) king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy(DZ) against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.(EA) 11 For this is what Amos is saying:
“‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely go into exile,(EB)
away from their native land.’”(EC)
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer!(ED) Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.(EE) 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel,(EF) because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple(EG) of the kingdom.(EH)”
14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet(EI) nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.(EJ) 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock(EK) and said to me, ‘Go,(EL) prophesy(EM) to my people Israel.’(EN) 16 Now then, hear(EO) the word of the Lord. You say,
“‘Do not prophesy against(EP) Israel,
and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’
17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“‘Your wife will become a prostitute(EQ) in the city,
and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.
Your land will be measured and divided up,
and you yourself will die in a pagan[i] country.
And Israel will surely go into exile,(ER)
away from their native land.(ES)’”
A Basket of Ripe Fruit
8 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(ET) a basket of ripe fruit. 2 “What do you see,(EU) Amos?(EV)” he asked.
“A basket(EW) of ripe fruit,” I answered.
Then the Lord said to me, “The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.(EX)
3 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing.[j](EY) Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!(EZ)”
5 saying,
“When will the New Moon(FC) be over
that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
that we may market(FD) wheat?”(FE)—
skimping on the measure,
boosting the price
and cheating(FF) with dishonest scales,(FG)
6 buying the poor(FH) with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling even the sweepings with the wheat.(FI)
7 The Lord has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob:(FJ) “I will never forget(FK) anything they have done.(FL)
8 “Will not the land tremble(FM) for this,
and all who live in it mourn?
The whole land will rise like the Nile;
it will be stirred up and then sink
like the river of Egypt.(FN)
9 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord,
“I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.(FO)
10 I will turn your religious festivals(FP) into mourning
and all your singing into weeping.(FQ)
I will make all of you wear sackcloth(FR)
and shave(FS) your heads.
I will make that time like mourning for an only son(FT)
and the end of it like a bitter day.(FU)
11 “The days are coming,”(FV) declares the Sovereign Lord,
“when I will send a famine through the land—
not a famine of food or a thirst for water,
but a famine(FW) of hearing the words of the Lord.(FX)
12 People will stagger from sea to sea
and wander from north to east,
searching for the word of the Lord,
but they will not find it.(FY)
13 “In that day
“the lovely young women and strong young men(FZ)
will faint because of thirst.(GA)
14 Those who swear by the sin of Samaria(GB)—
who say, ‘As surely as your god lives, Dan,’(GC)
or, ‘As surely as the god[k] of Beersheba(GD) lives’—
they will fall,(GE) never to rise again.(GF)”
Israel to Be Destroyed
9 I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:
“Strike the tops of the pillars
so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads(GG) of all the people;
those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
none will escape.(GH)
2 Though they dig down to the depths below,(GI)
from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,(GJ)
from there I will bring them down.(GK)
3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,(GL)
there I will hunt them down and seize them.(GM)
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,(GN)
there I will command the serpent(GO) to bite them.(GP)
4 Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
there I will command the sword(GQ) to slay them.
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,(GU)
and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
then sinks like the river of Egypt;(GV)
6 he builds his lofty palace[l](GW) in the heavens
and sets its foundation[m] on the earth;
he calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.(GX)
7 “Are not you Israelites
the same to me as the Cushites[n]?”(GY)
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
the Philistines(GZ) from Caphtor[o](HA)
and the Arameans from Kir?(HB)
8 “Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy(HC) it
from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.(HD)
9 “For I will give the command,
and I will shake the people of Israel
among all the nations
as grain(HE) is shaken in a sieve,(HF)
and not a pebble will reach the ground.(HG)
10 All the sinners among my people
will die by the sword,(HH)
all those who say,
‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’(HI)
Israel’s Restoration
11 “In that day
“I will restore David’s(HJ) fallen shelter(HK)—
I will repair its broken walls
and restore its ruins(HL)—
and will rebuild it as it used to be,(HM)
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom(HN)
and all the nations that bear my name,[p](HO)”
declares the Lord, who will do these things.(HP)
13 “The days are coming,”(HQ) declares the Lord,
“when the reaper(HR) will be overtaken by the plowman(HS)
and the planter by the one treading(HT) grapes.
New wine(HU) will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills,(HV)
14 and I will bring(HW) my people Israel back from exile.[q](HX)
“They will rebuild the ruined cities(HY) and live in them.
They will plant vineyards(HZ) and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.(IA)
15 I will plant(IB) Israel in their own land,(IC)
never again to be uprooted(ID)
from the land I have given them,”(IE)
says the Lord your God.(IF)
Notas al pie
- Amos 5:5 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see Hosea 4:15.
- Amos 5:26 Or lifted up Sakkuth your king / and Kaiwan your idols, / your star-gods; Septuagint lifted up the shrine of Molek / and the star of your god Rephan, / their idols
- Amos 6:10 Or to make a funeral fire in honor of the dead
- Amos 6:12 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text plow there
- Amos 6:13 Lo Debar means nothing.
- Amos 6:13 Karnaim means horns; horn here symbolizes strength.
- Amos 7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Amos 7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain; also in verse 8.
- Amos 7:17 Hebrew an unclean
- Amos 8:3 Or “the temple singers will wail
- Amos 8:14 Hebrew the way
- Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
- Amos 9:7 That is, people from the upper Nile region
- Amos 9:7 That is, Crete
- Amos 9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint so that the remnant of people / and all the nations that bear my name may seek me
- Amos 9:14 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel
Ben Sira 45:1-14
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Ben Sira 45:1-14
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 45
Praise of Moses, Aaron, and Phinehas
1 From him came the man[a]
who would win the favor of all the living:(A)
Dear to God and human beings,
Moses, whose memory is a blessing.
2 God made him like the angels in honor,
and strengthened him with fearful powers.(B)
3 At his words God performed signs
and sustained him in the king’s presence.
He gave him the commandments for his people,
and revealed to him his glory.(C)
4 Because of his trustworthiness and meekness
God selected him from all flesh;(D)
5 He let him hear his voice,
and led him into the cloud,
Where he handed over the commandments,
the law of life and understanding,[b]
That he might teach his precepts to Jacob,
his judgments and decrees to Israel.
6 He also raised up, like Moses in holiness,[c]
his brother Aaron, of the tribe of Levi.(E)
7 He made his office perpetual
and bestowed on him priesthood for his people;
He established him in honor
and crowned him with lofty majesty.
8 He clothed him in splendid garments,
and adorned him with glorious vestments:
Breeches, tunic, and robe
9 with pomegranates at the hem
And a rustle of bells round about,
whose pleasing sound at each step
Would make him heard within the sanctuary,
a reminder for the people;
10 The sacred vestments of gold, violet,
and crimson, worked with embroidery;
The breastpiece for decision, the ephod and cincture
11 with scarlet yarn, the work of the weaver;
Precious stones with seal engravings
in golden settings, the work of the jeweler,
To commemorate in incised letters
each of the tribes of Israel;
12 On his turban a diadem of gold,
its plate engraved with the sacred inscription—
Majestic, glorious, renowned for splendor,
a delight to the eyes, supremely beautiful.
13 Before him, no one had been adorned with these,
nor may they ever be worn by any other
Except his sons and them alone,
generation after generation, for all time.
14 His grain offering is wholly burnt
as an established offering twice each day;
Notas al pie
- 44:23(end)–45:5 Moses manifested God’s power through marvels (vv. 1–3), God’s authority through the commandments and the Law (v. 5), and God’s mercy through the intimacy granted him by the Lord for his own faithfulness and meekness (v. 4).
- 45:5 On God’s intimacy with Moses, see Ex 33:11; Nm 12:8; Dt 34:10.
- 45:6–25 Ben Sira here expresses his reverence and esteem for the priesthood of the old covenant. He recalls God’s choice of Aaron and his sons for this sublime office (vv. 6–7), and describes in detail the beauty of the high priest’s vestments (vv. 8–13). He relates the ordination of Aaron at the hands of Moses (v. 15), and describes the priestly functions, namely, offering sacrifice to God (v. 16), and blessing (v. 15), teaching, governing, and judging the people (v. 17); the inheritance of the high priest (vv. 20–22); the punishment of those who were jealous of Aaron (vv. 18–19); and the confirmation of the covenant of the priesthood with Aaron’s descendants through Phinehas (vv. 23–25).
Revelation 22
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Revelation 22
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 22
1 Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water,[a] sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb(A) 2 down the middle of its street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life[b] that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations. 3 Nothing accursed will be found there anymore. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will look upon his face,[c] and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will be no more, nor will they need light from lamp or sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever and ever.(B)
VII. Epilogue[d]
6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, and the Lord, the God of prophetic spirits, sent his angel to show his servants what must happen soon.”(C) 7 [e]“Behold, I am coming soon.”[f] Blessed is the one who keeps the prophetic message of this book.(D)
8 It is I, John, who heard and saw these things, and when I heard and saw them I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t! I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brothers the prophets and of those who keep the message of this book. Worship God.”(E)
10 Then he said to me, “Do not seal up the prophetic words of this book, for the appointed time[g] is near. 11 Let the wicked still act wickedly, and the filthy still be filthy. The righteous must still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
12 “Behold, I am coming soon. I bring with me the recompense I will give to each according to his deeds.(F) 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,(G) the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”[h]
14 Blessed are they who wash their robes so as to have the right to the tree of life and enter the city[i] through its gates.(H) 15 Outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the unchaste, the murderers, the idol-worshipers, and all who love and practice deceit.(I)
16 “I, Jesus, sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the root and offspring of David,[j] the bright morning star.”(J)
17 The Spirit and the bride[k] say, “Come.” Let the hearer say, “Come.” Let the one who thirsts come forward, and the one who wants it receive the gift of life-giving water.(K)
18 I warn everyone who hears the prophetic words in this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words in this prophetic book, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city described in this book.(L)
20 [l](M)The one who gives this testimony says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.
Notas al pie
- 22:1, 17 Life-giving water: see note on Rev 7:17.
- 22:2 The tree of life: cf. Rev 22:14; see note on Rev 2:7. Fruit…medicine: cf. Ez 47:12.
- 22:4 Look upon his face: cf. Mt 5:8; 1 Cor 13:12; 1 Jn 3:2.
- 22:6–21 The book ends with an epilogue consisting of a series of warnings and exhortations and forming an inclusion with the prologue by resuming its themes and expressions; see note on Rev 1:1–3.
- 22:7, 12, 20 I am coming soon: Christ is the speaker; see note on Rev 1:3.
- 22:7, 14 Blessed: see note on Rev 1:3.
- 22:10 The appointed time: see note on Rev 1:3.
- 22:13 Christ applies to himself words used by God in Rev 1:8.
- 22:14 The city: heavenly Jerusalem; see note on Rev 21:2.
- 22:16 The root…of David: see note on Rev 5:5. Morning star: see note on Rev 2:26–28.
- 22:17 Bride: the church; see note on Rev 21:2.
- 22:20 Come, Lord Jesus: a liturgical refrain, similar to the Aramaic expression Marana tha—“Our Lord, come!”—in 1 Cor 16:22; cf. note there. It was a prayer for the coming of Christ in glory at the parousia; see note on Rev 1:3.
Revelation 22
New International Version
Revelation 22
New International Version
Eden Restored
22 Then the angel showed me the river(A) of the water of life,(B) as clear as crystal,(C) flowing(D) from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life,(E) bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.(F) 3 No longer will there be any curse.(G) The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.(H) 4 They will see his face,(I) and his name will be on their foreheads.(J) 5 There will be no more night.(K) They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light.(L) And they will reign for ever and ever.(M)
John and the Angel
6 The angel said to me,(N) “These words are trustworthy and true.(O) The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets,(P) sent his angel(Q) to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”
7 “Look, I am coming soon!(R) Blessed(S) is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”(T)
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things.(U) And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet(V) of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll.(W) Worship God!”(X)
10 Then he told me, “Do not seal up(Y) the words of the prophecy of this scroll,(Z) because the time is near.(AA) 11 Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”(AB)
Epilogue: Invitation and Warning
12 “Look, I am coming soon!(AC) My reward is with me,(AD) and I will give to each person according to what they have done.(AE) 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega,(AF) the First and the Last,(AG) the Beginning and the End.(AH)
14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes,(AI) that they may have the right to the tree of life(AJ) and may go through the gates(AK) into the city.(AL) 15 Outside(AM) are the dogs,(AN) those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16 “I, Jesus,(AO) have sent my angel(AP) to give you[a] this testimony for the churches.(AQ) I am the Root(AR) and the Offspring of David,(AS) and the bright Morning Star.”(AT)
17 The Spirit(AU) and the bride(AV) say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.(AW)
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll:(AX) If anyone adds anything to them,(AY) God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.(AZ) 19 And if anyone takes words away(BA) from this scroll of prophecy,(BB) God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life(BC) and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.
20 He who testifies to these things(BD) says, “Yes, I am coming soon.”(BE)
Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.(BF)
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people.(BG) Amen.
Notas al pie
- Revelation 22:16 The Greek is plural.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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