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Amos 3-9
King James Version
Amos 3-9
King James Version
3 Hear this word that the Lord hath spoken against you, O children of Israel, against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,
2 You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
3 Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
4 Will a lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? will a young lion cry out of his den, if he have taken nothing?
5 Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no gin is for him? shall one take up a snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?
6 Shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people not be afraid? shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?
7 Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.
8 The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord God hath spoken, who can but prophesy?
9 Publish in the palaces at Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria, and behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof.
10 For they know not to do right, saith the Lord, who store up violence and robbery in their palaces.
11 Therefore thus saith the Lord God; An adversary there shall be even round about the land; and he shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled.
12 Thus saith the Lord; As the shepherd taketh out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear; so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed, and in Damascus in a couch.
13 Hear ye, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God, the God of hosts,
14 That in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him I will also visit the altars of Bethel: and the horns of the altar shall be cut off, and fall to the ground.
15 And I will smite the winter house with the summer house; and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall have an end, saith the Lord.
4 Hear this word, ye kine of Bashan, that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, which crush the needy, which say to their masters, Bring, and let us drink.
2 The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness, that, lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with hooks, and your posterity with fishhooks.
3 And ye shall go out at the breaches, every cow at that which is before her; and ye shall cast them into the palace, saith the Lord.
4 Come to Bethel, and transgress; at Gilgal multiply transgression; and bring your sacrifices every morning, and your tithes after three years:
5 And offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven, and proclaim and publish the free offerings: for this liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God.
6 And I also have given you cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and want of bread in all your places: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
7 And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.
8 So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: when your gardens and your vineyards and your fig trees and your olive trees increased, the palmerworm devoured them: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
10 I have sent among you the pestilence after the manner of Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses; and I have made the stink of your camps to come up unto your nostrils: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
11 I have overthrown some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, and ye were as a firebrand plucked out of the burning: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.
13 For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The Lord, The God of hosts, is his name.
5 Hear ye this word which I take up against you, even a lamentation, O house of Israel.
2 The virgin of Israel is fallen; she shall no more rise: she is forsaken upon her land; there is none to raise her up.
3 For thus saith the Lord God; The city that went out by a thousand shall leave an hundred, and that which went forth by an hundred shall leave ten, to the house of Israel.
4 For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live:
5 But seek not Bethel, nor enter into Gilgal, and pass not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall surely go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.
6 Seek the Lord, and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.
7 Ye who turn judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth,
8 Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name:
9 That strengtheneth the spoiled against the strong, so that the spoiled shall come against the fortress.
10 They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly.
11 Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.
12 For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.
13 Therefore the prudent shall keep silence in that time; for it is an evil time.
14 Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the Lord, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.
15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
16 Therefore the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing.
17 And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the Lord.
18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light.
19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
20 Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?
21 I hate, I despise your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.
22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat offerings, I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.
23 Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.
24 But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.
25 Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
26 But ye have borne the tabernacle of your Moloch and Chiun your images, the star of your god, which ye made to yourselves.
27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose name is The God of hosts.
6 Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!
2 Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border?
3 Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near;
4 That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall;
5 That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of musick, like David;
6 That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
7 Therefore now shall they go captive with the first that go captive, and the banquet of them that stretched themselves shall be removed.
8 The Lord God hath sworn by himself, saith the Lord the God of hosts, I abhor the excellency of Jacob, and hate his palaces: therefore will I deliver up the city with all that is therein.
9 And it shall come to pass, if there remain ten men in one house, that they shall die.
10 And a man's uncle shall take him up, and he that burneth him, to bring out the bones out of the house, and shall say unto him that is by the sides of the house, Is there yet any with thee? and he shall say, No. Then shall he say, Hold thy tongue: for we may not make mention of the name of the Lord.
11 For, behold, the Lord commandeth, and he will smite the great house with breaches, and the little house with clefts.
12 Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock:
13 Ye which rejoice in a thing of nought, which say, Have we not taken to us horns by our own strength?
14 But, behold, I will raise up against you a nation, O house of Israel, saith the Lord the God of hosts; and they shall afflict you from the entering in of Hemath unto the river of the wilderness.
7 Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me; and, behold, he formed grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings.
2 And it came to pass, that when they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then I said, O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.
3 The Lord repented for this: It shall not be, saith the Lord.
4 Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and, behold, the Lord God called to contend by fire, and it devoured the great deep, and did eat up a part.
5 Then said I, O Lord God, cease, I beseech thee: by whom shall Jacob arise? for he is small.
6 The Lord repented for this: This also shall not be, saith the Lord God.
7 Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.
8 And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:
9 And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear all his words.
11 For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out of their own land.
12 Also Amaziah said unto Amos, O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there:
13 But prophesy not again any more at Bethel: for it is the king's chapel, and it is the king's court.
14 Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:
15 And the Lord took me as I followed the flock, and the Lord said unto me, Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.
16 Now therefore hear thou the word of the Lord: Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel, and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.
17 Therefore thus saith the Lord; Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city, and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword, and thy land shall be divided by line; and thou shalt die in a polluted land: and Israel shall surely go into captivity forth of his land.
8 Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.
2 And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord unto me, The end is come upon my people of Israel; I will not again pass by them any more.
3 And the songs of the temple shall be howlings in that day, saith the Lord God: there shall be many dead bodies in every place; they shall cast them forth with silence.
4 Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,
5 Saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that we may set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and falsifying the balances by deceit?
6 That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
7 The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.
8 Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? and it shall rise up wholly as a flood; and it shall be cast out and drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
9 And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:
10 And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord:
12 And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord, and shall not find it.
13 In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.
14 They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, The manner of Beersheba liveth; even they shall fall, and never rise up again.
9 I saw the Lord standing upon the altar: and he said, Smite the lintel of the door, that the posts may shake: and cut them in the head, all of them; and I will slay the last of them with the sword: he that fleeth of them shall not flee away, and he that escapeth of them shall not be delivered.
2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
3 And though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out thence; and though they be hid from my sight in the bottom of the sea, thence will I command the serpent, and he shall bite them:
4 And though they go into captivity before their enemies, thence will I command the sword, and it shall slay them: and I will set mine eyes upon them for evil, and not for good.
5 And the Lord God of hosts is he that toucheth the land, and it shall melt, and all that dwell therein shall mourn: and it shall rise up wholly like a flood; and shall be drowned, as by the flood of Egypt.
6 It is he that buildeth his stories in the heaven, and hath founded his troop in the earth; he that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The Lord is his name.
7 Are ye not as children of the Ethiopians unto me, O children of Israel? saith the Lord. Have not I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt? and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir?
8 Behold, the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the face of the earth; saving that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob, saith the Lord.
9 For, lo, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all nations, like as corn is sifted in a sieve, yet shall not the least grain fall upon the earth.
10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.
11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old:
12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the Lord that doeth this.
13 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.
14 And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.
15 And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the Lord thy God.
Amos 3-9
New International Version
Amos 3-9
New International Version
Witnesses Summoned Against Israel
3 Hear this word, people of Israel, the word the Lord has spoken against you(A)—against the whole family I brought up out of Egypt:(B)
2 “You only have I chosen(C)
of all the families of the earth;
therefore I will punish(D) you
for all your sins.(E)”
3 Do two walk together
unless they have agreed to do so?
4 Does a lion roar(F) in the thicket
when it has no prey?(G)
Does it growl in its den
when it has caught nothing?
5 Does a bird swoop down to a trap on the ground
when no bait(H) is there?
Does a trap spring up from the ground
if it has not caught anything?
6 When a trumpet(I) sounds in a city,
do not the people tremble?
When disaster(J) comes to a city,
has not the Lord caused it?(K)
7 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing
without revealing his plan(L)
to his servants the prophets.(M)
8 The lion(N) has roared(O)—
who will not fear?
The Sovereign Lord has spoken—
who can but prophesy?(P)
9 Proclaim to the fortresses of Ashdod(Q)
and to the fortresses of Egypt:
“Assemble yourselves on the mountains of Samaria;(R)
see the great unrest within her
and the oppression among her people.”
10 “They do not know how to do right,(S)” declares the Lord,
“who store up in their fortresses(T)
what they have plundered(U) and looted.”
11 Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says:
“An enemy will overrun your land,
pull down your strongholds
and plunder your fortresses.(V)”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s(W) mouth
only two leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued,
with only the head of a bed
and a piece of fabric[a] from a couch.[b](X)”
13 “Hear this and testify(Y) against the descendants of Jacob,” declares the Lord, the Lord God Almighty.
14 “On the day I punish(Z) Israel for her sins,
I will destroy the altars of Bethel;(AA)
the horns(AB) of the altar will be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house(AC)
along with the summer house;(AD)
the houses adorned with ivory(AE) will be destroyed
and the mansions(AF) will be demolished,(AG)”
declares the Lord.(AH)
Israel Has Not Returned to God
4 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan(AI) on Mount Samaria,(AJ)
you women who oppress the poor(AK) and crush the needy(AL)
and say to your husbands,(AM) “Bring us some drinks!(AN)”
2 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness:
“The time(AO) will surely come
when you will be taken away(AP) with hooks,(AQ)
the last of you with fishhooks.[c]
3 You will each go straight out
through breaches in the wall,(AR)
and you will be cast out toward Harmon,[d]”
declares the Lord.
4 “Go to Bethel(AS) and sin;
go to Gilgal(AT) and sin yet more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,(AU)
your tithes(AV) every three years.[e](AW)
5 Burn leavened bread(AX) as a thank offering
and brag about your freewill offerings(AY)—
boast about them, you Israelites,
for this is what you love to do,”
declares the Sovereign Lord.
6 “I gave you empty stomachs in every city
and lack of bread in every town,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.(AZ)
7 “I also withheld(BA) rain from you
when the harvest was still three months away.
I sent rain on one town,
but withheld it from another.(BB)
One field had rain;
another had none and dried up.
8 People staggered from town to town for water(BC)
but did not get enough(BD) to drink,
yet you have not returned(BE) to me,”
declares the Lord.(BF)
9 “Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,
destroying them with blight and mildew.(BG)
Locusts(BH) devoured your fig and olive trees,(BI)
yet you have not returned(BJ) to me,”
declares the Lord.
10 “I sent plagues(BK) among you
as I did to Egypt.(BL)
I killed your young men(BM) with the sword,
along with your captured horses.
I filled your nostrils with the stench(BN) of your camps,
yet you have not returned to me,”(BO)
declares the Lord.(BP)
11 “I overthrew some of you
as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.(BQ)
You were like a burning stick(BR) snatched from the fire,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.(BS)
12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel,
and because I will do this to you, Israel,
prepare to meet your God.”
13 He who forms the mountains,(BT)
who creates the wind,(BU)
and who reveals his thoughts(BV) to mankind,
who turns dawn to darkness,
and treads on the heights of the earth(BW)—
the Lord God Almighty is his name.(BX)
A Lament and Call to Repentance
5 Hear this word, Israel, this lament(BY) I take up concerning you:
2 “Fallen is Virgin(BZ) Israel,
never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
with no one to lift her up.(CA)”
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.(CB)”
4 This is what the Lord says to Israel:
“Seek(CC) me and live;(CD)
5 do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,(CE)
do not journey to Beersheba.(CF)
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.[f](CG)”
6 Seek(CH) the Lord and live,(CI)
or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;(CJ)
it will devour them,
and Bethel(CK) will have no one to quench it.(CL)
7 There are those who turn justice into bitterness(CM)
and cast righteousness(CN) to the ground.(CO)
8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion,(CP)
who turns midnight into dawn(CQ)
and darkens day into night,(CR)
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.(CS)
9 With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
and brings the fortified city to ruin.(CT)
10 There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court(CU)
and detest the one who tells the truth.(CV)
11 You levy a straw tax on the poor(CW)
and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,(CX)
you will not live in them;(CY)
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.(CZ)
12 For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.(DA)
There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes(DB)
and deprive the poor(DC) of justice in the courts.(DD)
13 Therefore the prudent keep quiet(DE) in such times,
for the times are evil.(DF)
14 Seek good, not evil,
that you may live.(DG)
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say he is.
15 Hate evil,(DH) love good;(DI)
maintain justice in the courts.(DJ)
Perhaps(DK) the Lord God Almighty will have mercy(DL)
on the remnant(DM) of Joseph.
16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:
“There will be wailing(DN) in all the streets(DO)
and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers(DP) will be summoned to weep
and the mourners to wail.
17 There will be wailing(DQ) in all the vineyards,
for I will pass through(DR) your midst,”
says the Lord.(DS)
The Day of the Lord
18 Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!(DT)
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?(DU)
That day will be darkness,(DV) not light.(DW)
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,(DX)
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.(DY)
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness,(DZ) not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?(EA)
21 “I hate,(EB) I despise your religious festivals;(EC)
your assemblies(ED) are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings(EE) and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.(EF)
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.(EG)
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.(EH)
24 But let justice(EI) roll on like a river,
righteousness(EJ) like a never-failing stream!(EK)
25 “Did you bring me sacrifices(EL) and offerings
forty years(EM) in the wilderness, people of Israel?
26 You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
the pedestal of your idols,(EN)
the star of your god[g]—
which you made for yourselves.
27 Therefore I will send you into exile(EO) beyond Damascus,”
says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.(EP)
Woe to the Complacent
6 Woe to you(EQ) who are complacent(ER) in Zion,
and to you who feel secure(ES) on Mount Samaria,(ET)
you notable men of the foremost nation,
to whom the people of Israel come!(EU)
2 Go to Kalneh(EV) and look at it;
go from there to great Hamath,(EW)
and then go down to Gath(EX) in Philistia.
Are they better off than(EY) your two kingdoms?
Is their land larger than yours?
3 You put off the day of disaster
and bring near a reign of terror.(EZ)
4 You lie on beds adorned with ivory
and lounge on your couches.(FA)
You dine on choice lambs
and fattened calves.(FB)
5 You strum away on your harps(FC) like David
and improvise on musical instruments.(FD)
6 You drink wine(FE) by the bowlful
and use the finest lotions,
but you do not grieve(FF) over the ruin of Joseph.(FG)
7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;(FH)
your feasting and lounging will end.(FI)
The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel
8 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself(FJ)—the Lord God Almighty declares:
“I abhor(FK) the pride of Jacob(FL)
and detest his fortresses;(FM)
I will deliver up(FN) the city
and everything in it.(FO)”
9 If ten(FP) 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[h](FQ) asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush!(FR) We must not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For the Lord has given the command,
and he will smash(FS) the great house(FT) into pieces
and the small house into bits.(FU)
12 Do horses run on the rocky crags?
Does one plow the sea[i] with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison(FV)
and the fruit of righteousness(FW) into bitterness(FX)—
13 you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar[j]
and say, “Did we not take Karnaim[k] by our own strength?(FY)”
14 For the Lord God Almighty declares,
“I will stir up a nation(FZ) against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
from Lebo Hamath(GA) to the valley of the Arabah.(GB)”
Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line
7 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(GC) He was preparing swarms of locusts(GD) 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,(GE) I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive?(GF) He is so small!(GG)”
3 So the Lord relented.(GH)
“This will not happen,” the Lord said.(GI)
4 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire;(GJ) it dried up the great deep and devoured(GK) the land. 5 Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!(GL)”
6 So the Lord relented.(GM)
“This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said.(GN)
7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,[l] with a plumb line[m] in his hand. 8 And the Lord asked me, “What do you see,(GO) Amos?(GP)”
“A plumb line,(GQ)” I replied.
Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.(GR)
9 “The high places(GS) of Isaac will be destroyed
and the sanctuaries(GT) of Israel will be ruined;
with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.(GU)”
Amos and Amaziah
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel(GV) sent a message to Jeroboam(GW) king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy(GX) against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.(GY) 11 For this is what Amos is saying:
“‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely go into exile,(GZ)
away from their native land.’”(HA)
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer!(HB) Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.(HC) 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel,(HD) because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple(HE) of the kingdom.(HF)”
14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet(HG) nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.(HH) 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock(HI) and said to me, ‘Go,(HJ) prophesy(HK) to my people Israel.’(HL) 16 Now then, hear(HM) the word of the Lord. You say,
“‘Do not prophesy against(HN) Israel,
and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’
17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“‘Your wife will become a prostitute(HO) 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[n] country.
And Israel will surely go into exile,(HP)
away from their native land.(HQ)’”
A Basket of Ripe Fruit
8 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(HR) a basket of ripe fruit. 2 “What do you see,(HS) Amos?(HT)” he asked.
“A basket(HU) 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.(HV)
3 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing.[o](HW) Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!(HX)”
5 saying,
“When will the New Moon(IA) be over
that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
that we may market(IB) wheat?”(IC)—
skimping on the measure,
boosting the price
and cheating(ID) with dishonest scales,(IE)
6 buying the poor(IF) with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling even the sweepings with the wheat.(IG)
7 The Lord has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob:(IH) “I will never forget(II) anything they have done.(IJ)
8 “Will not the land tremble(IK) 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.(IL)
9 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord,
“I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.(IM)
10 I will turn your religious festivals(IN) into mourning
and all your singing into weeping.(IO)
I will make all of you wear sackcloth(IP)
and shave(IQ) your heads.
I will make that time like mourning for an only son(IR)
and the end of it like a bitter day.(IS)
11 “The days are coming,”(IT) 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(IU) of hearing the words of the Lord.(IV)
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.(IW)
13 “In that day
“the lovely young women and strong young men(IX)
will faint because of thirst.(IY)
14 Those who swear by the sin of Samaria(IZ)—
who say, ‘As surely as your god lives, Dan,’(JA)
or, ‘As surely as the god[p] of Beersheba(JB) lives’—
they will fall,(JC) never to rise again.(JD)”
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(JE) of all the people;
those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
none will escape.(JF)
2 Though they dig down to the depths below,(JG)
from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,(JH)
from there I will bring them down.(JI)
3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,(JJ)
there I will hunt them down and seize them.(JK)
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,(JL)
there I will command the serpent(JM) to bite them.(JN)
4 Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
there I will command the sword(JO) to slay them.
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,(JS)
and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
then sinks like the river of Egypt;(JT)
6 he builds his lofty palace[q](JU) in the heavens
and sets its foundation[r] 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.(JV)
7 “Are not you Israelites
the same to me as the Cushites[s]?”(JW)
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
the Philistines(JX) from Caphtor[t](JY)
and the Arameans from Kir?(JZ)
8 “Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy(KA) it
from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.(KB)
9 “For I will give the command,
and I will shake the people of Israel
among all the nations
as grain(KC) is shaken in a sieve,(KD)
and not a pebble will reach the ground.(KE)
10 All the sinners among my people
will die by the sword,(KF)
all those who say,
‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’(KG)
Israel’s Restoration
11 “In that day
“I will restore David’s(KH) fallen shelter(KI)—
I will repair its broken walls
and restore its ruins(KJ)—
and will rebuild it as it used to be,(KK)
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom(KL)
and all the nations that bear my name,[u](KM)”
declares the Lord, who will do these things.(KN)
13 “The days are coming,”(KO) declares the Lord,
“when the reaper(KP) will be overtaken by the plowman(KQ)
and the planter by the one treading(KR) grapes.
New wine(KS) will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills,(KT)
14 and I will bring(KU) my people Israel back from exile.[v](KV)
“They will rebuild the ruined cities(KW) and live in them.
They will plant vineyards(KX) and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.(KY)
15 I will plant(KZ) Israel in their own land,(LA)
never again to be uprooted(LB)
from the land I have given them,”(LC)
says the Lord your God.(LD)
Footnotes
- Amos 3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
- Amos 3:12 Or Israelites be rescued, / those who sit in Samaria / on the edge of their beds / and in Damascus on their couches.
- Amos 4:2 Or away in baskets, / the last of you in fish baskets
- Amos 4:3 Masoretic Text; with a different word division of the Hebrew (see Septuagint) out, you mountain of oppression
- Amos 4:4 Or days
- 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
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