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
International Standard Version
Judgment on the Women of Israel
4 “Listen to this message, you fat cows from Bashan,
who live on the Samaritan mountains,
who oppress the poor,
who rob the needy,
and who constantly ask your husbands for one more drink!”
2 The Lord God has taken a sacred oath:[a]
“The day is coming when they[b] will take you away on fishhooks,
every last one of you on fishhooks.
3 Each of you will go out through the breaches of the walls[c]
straight to Mt. Hermon,”[d]
declares the Lord.
The Lord’s Rebuke to Israel
4 “Come to Bethel and sin,
to Gilgal and sin even more!
Bring along your morning sacrifices,
and pay your tithes every other day.[e]
5 While you’re at it,[f] present a thank offering with leaven,
and publicize your freewill offerings,
letting everyone hear about it,
because this is what you really love to do, you Israelis,”
declares the Lord God.
Israel’s Refusal to Return to God
6 “I also have scheduled[g] food shortages[h] for you in all of your cities,
and lack of bread in all of your settlements,
but you haven’t returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
7 “I therefore have withheld the rain from you
three months before the harvest,
causing rain to come upon one city,
but not upon another,
and upon one field
but not upon another,
so that it would wither.
8 So the people of[i] two or three cities staggered away to another[j] city
in order to obtain drinking water,
but you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
9 “I afflicted you with blight and fungus;
and the locust swarm devoured the harvest
of your gardens, your vineyards, your fig trees, and your olive trees,
but you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
10 “I sent plagues among you as I did with Egypt.
I killed your choicest young men with the sword.
I took your horses away from you.
I filled your noses with the stench of your encampments,
but you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
11 “I overthrew your cities,[k]
as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
You’ve become like a burning ember, snatched from the fire,
but you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel.
Because I am about to do this,
prepare to be summoned to your God, Israel!”
13 Look! The one who crafts mountains,
who creates the wind,
who reveals what he is thinking to mankind,
who darkens the morning light,
who tramples down the high places of the land—
the Lord, the God of the Heavenly Armies is his name.
Footnotes
- Amos 4:2 Lit. oath on his holiness
- Amos 4:2 Lit. coming upon you, and he; i.e. the invading forces personified as an individual
- Amos 4:3 The Heb. lacks of the walls
- Amos 4:3 Heb. Harmonah
- Amos 4:4 Lit. tithes for the three days
- Amos 4:5 Lit. And
- Amos 4:6 Lit. appointed
- Amos 4:6 Lit. appointed clean teeth
- Amos 4:8 The Heb. lacks the people of
- Amos 4:8 Lit. to a single
- Amos 4:11 The Heb. lacks cities
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