Amos 4
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
4 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan
who are on Mount Samaria,
who oppress the poor, who crush the needy,
who say to their husbands, “Bring something to drink!”(A)
2 The Lord God has sworn by his holiness:
The time is surely coming upon you
when they shall take you away with hooks,
even the last of you with fishhooks.(B)
3 Through breaches in the wall you shall leave,
each one straight ahead,
and you shall be flung out into Harmon,[a]
says the Lord.
4 Come to Bethel—and transgress;
to Gilgal—and multiply transgression;
bring your sacrifices every morning,
your tithes every three days;(C)
5 bring a thank offering of leavened bread
and proclaim freewill offerings, publish them;
for so you love to do, O people of Israel!
says the Lord God.(D)
Israel Rejects Correction
6 I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities
and lack of bread in all your places;
yet you did not return to me,
says the Lord.(E)
7 And I also withheld the rain from you
when there were still three months to the harvest;
I would send rain on one city
and send no rain on another city;
one field would be rained upon,
and the field on which it did not rain withered;
8 so two or three towns wandered to one town
to drink water and were not satisfied;
yet you did not return to me,
says the Lord.(F)
9 I struck you with blight and mildew;
I laid waste[b] your gardens and your vineyards;
the locust devoured your fig trees and your olive trees;
yet you did not return to me,
says the Lord.(G)
10 I sent among you a pestilence after the manner of Egypt;
I killed your young men with the sword;
I carried away your horses;[c]
and I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils;
yet you did not return to me,
says the Lord.(H)
11 I overthrew some of you
as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
and you were like a brand snatched from the fire;
yet you did not return to me,
says the Lord.(I)
12 Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;
because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel!(J)
13 For the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind,
reveals his thoughts to mortals,
makes the morning darkness,
and treads on the heights of the earth—
the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!(K)
Amos 4
Evangelical Heritage Version
4 Listen to this, you cows of Bashan,
who are on the mountain of Samaria,
you women who are oppressing the poor,
who are crushing the needy,
who say to your husbands, “Bring us more drinks!”
2 The Lord God swears by his holiness:
The days are surely coming against you,
when they will drag you away with hooks,
every last one of you with fishhooks.
3 You will go out through the broken-down walls.
Each woman will go straight ahead,
and you will be thrown out[a] toward Harmon,[b]
declares the Lord.
4 Go to Bethel and rebel.
Rebel even more at Gilgal.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,
your tithes every third day.
5 Burn some leavened bread as a thank offering,
and proclaim voluntary offerings—announce them!
For you love to do this, you people of Israel,
says the Lord God.
Warnings Produce No Repentance
6 I am the one who gave to you clean teeth[c] in all of your cities,
and lack of food in all your places,
but you did not return to me,
declares the Lord.
7 I am the one who withheld the rain from you
while there were still three months before the harvest.
I would send rain on one city,
but on another city I would not send rain.
One plot of ground would receive rain,
but another plot, on which it did not rain, would dry up.
8 Whenever people from two or three cities staggered to another city to get water to drink,
they would not have enough,
but you did not return to me,
declares the Lord.
9 I struck you with blight and mildew.
Your many gardens, your vineyards, your fig trees,
and your olive trees were devoured by locusts,
but you did not return to me,
declares the Lord.
10 I sent plagues against you like the plagues in Egypt.
I killed your best soldiers with the sword,
together with your captured horses.
I made the stench of your camp rise up into your nostrils,
but you did not return to me,
declares the Lord.
11 I overthrew some of you,
just as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
and you became like a burning stick snatched from the fire,
but you did not return to me,
declares the Lord.
12 Therefore, this is what I will do to you, Israel.
Yes, this is what I will do to you:
Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!
13 Indeed, he who forms mountains and who creates wind,
who declares his thoughts to mankind,
who turns dawn into darkness,
and who treads down the high places of the earth,
the Lord, the God of Armies, is his name.
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.