The words of Amos, who was among the (A)shepherds[a] of (B)Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel (C)in the days of (D)Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of (E)Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years[b] before (F)the earthquake.

Judgment on Israel's Neighbors

And he said:

(G)“The Lord roars from Zion
    and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
(H)the pastures of the shepherds mourn,
    and the (I)top of (J)Carmel withers.”

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Amos 1:1 Or sheep breeders
  2. Amos 1:1 Or during two years

(A) I am Amos. And I raised sheep near the town of Tekoa[a] when Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam[b] son of Jehoash[c] was king of Israel.

Two years before the earthquake,[d] the Lord gave me several messages[e] about Israel, (B) and I said:

When the Lord roars
    from Jerusalem,
pasturelands and Mount Carmel
    dry up and turn brown.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. 1.1 Tekoa: In the hill country of Judah about eight kilometers south of Bethlehem.
  2. 1.1 Uzziah … Jeroboam: Uzziah was king of Judah 781–740 b.c., and Jeroboam II was king of Israel 783–743 b.c.
  3. 1.1 Jehoash: The Hebrew text has “Joash,” another spelling of the name.
  4. 1.1 Two years … earthquake: Possibly the earthquake of 760 b.c., which seems to have been especially violent.
  5. 1.1 messages: Or “visions.”