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Amos 4-6
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Amos 4-6
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)
A Lament for Israel’s Sin
5 Hear this word that I take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:(L)
2 Fallen, no more to rise,
is maiden Israel;
forsaken on her land,
with no one to raise her up.(M)
3 For thus says the Lord God:
The city that marched out a thousand
shall have a hundred left,
and that which marched out a hundred
shall have ten left.[d](N)
4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
Seek me and live,(O)
5 but do not seek Bethel,
and do not enter into Gilgal
or cross over to Beer-sheba,
for Gilgal shall surely go into exile,
and Bethel shall come to nothing.(P)
6 Seek the Lord and live,
or he will break out against the house of Joseph like fire,
and it will devour Bethel, with no one to quench it.(Q)
7 Ah, you who turn justice to wormwood
and bring righteousness to the ground!
8 The one who made the Pleiades and Orion
and turns deep darkness into the morning
and darkens the day into night,
who calls for the water of the sea
and pours it out on the surface of the earth,
the Lord is his name,(R)
9 who makes destruction flash out against the strong,
so that destruction comes upon the fortress.
10 They hate the one who reproves in the gate,
and they abhor the one who speaks the truth.(S)
11 Therefore because you trample on the poor
and take from them levies of grain,
you have built houses of hewn stone,
but you shall not live in them;
you have planted pleasant vineyards,
but you shall not drink their wine.(T)
12 For I know how many are your transgressions
and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe
and push aside the needy in the gate.(U)
13 Therefore the prudent will keep silent in such a time,
for it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil,
that you may live,
and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you,
just as you have said.(V)
15 Hate evil and love good,
and establish justice in the gate;
it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.(W)
16 Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord:
In all the squares there shall be wailing,
and in all the streets they shall say, “Alas! Alas!”
They shall call the farmers to mourning
and those skilled in lamentation to wailing;(X)
17 in all the vineyards there shall be wailing,
for I will pass through the midst of you,
says the Lord.(Y)
The Day of the Lord a Dark Day
18 Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord!
Why do you want the day of the Lord?
It is darkness, not light,(Z)
19 as if someone fled from a lion
and was met by a bear
or went into the house and rested a hand against the wall
and was bitten by a snake.(AA)
20 Is not the day of the Lord darkness, not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?(AB)
21 I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.(AC)
22 Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them,
and the offerings of well-being of your fatted animals
I will not look upon.(AD)
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
I will not listen to the melody of your harps.
24 But let justice roll down like water
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.(AE)
25 Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?(AF) 26 You shall take up Sakkuth your king and Kaiwan your star god, your images,[e] which you made for yourselves; 27 therefore I will take you into exile beyond Damascus, says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts.(AG)
Complacent Self-Indulgence Will Be Punished
6 Woe to those who are at ease in Zion
and for those who feel secure on Mount Samaria,
the notables of the first of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel resorts!(AH)
2 Cross over to Calneh and see;
from there go to Hamath the great;
then go down to Gath of the Philistines.
Are you better[f] than these kingdoms?
Or is your[g] territory greater than their[h] territory,(AI)
3 you who put far away the evil day
and bring near a reign of violence?(AJ)
4 Woe to those who lie on beds of ivory
and lounge on their couches
and eat lambs from the flock
and calves from the stall,(AK)
5 who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
and like David improvise on instruments of music,(AL)
6 who drink wine from bowls
and anoint themselves with the finest oils
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!(AM)
7 Therefore they shall now be the first to go into exile,
and the revelry of the loungers shall pass away.(AN)
8 The Lord God has sworn by himself
(says the Lord, the God of hosts):
I abhor the pride of Jacob
and hate his strongholds,
and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.(AO)
9 If ten people remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And if a relative, one who burns it,[i] takes up the body to bring it out of the house and says to someone in the innermost parts of the house, “Is anyone else with you?” the answer will come, “No.” Then the relative[j] shall say, “Hush! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For the Lord commands,
and he will shatter the great house to bits
and the little house to pieces.(AP)
12 Do horses run on rocky crags?
Does one plow the sea with oxen?[k]
But you have turned justice into poison
and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood,(AQ)
13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar,[l]
who say, “Have we not by our own strength
taken Karnaim[m] for ourselves?”
14 Indeed, I am raising up against you a nation,
O house of Israel, says the Lord, the God of hosts,
and they shall oppress you from Lebo-hamath
to the Wadi Arabah.(AR)
Footnotes
- 4.3 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 4.9 Cn: Heb the multitude of
- 4.10 Heb with the captivity of your horses
- 5.3 Heb adds to the house of Israel
- 5.26 Heb your images, your star god
- 6.2 Or Are they better
- 6.2 Heb their
- 6.2 Heb your
- 6.10 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 6.10 Heb he
- 6.12 Or Does one plow them with oxen
- 6.13 Or in a thing of nothingness
- 6.13 Or horns
Amos 4-6
New International Version
Amos 4-6
New International Version
Israel Has Not Returned to God
4 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan(A) on Mount Samaria,(B)
you women who oppress the poor(C) and crush the needy(D)
and say to your husbands,(E) “Bring us some drinks!(F)”
2 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness:
“The time(G) will surely come
when you will be taken away(H) with hooks,(I)
the last of you with fishhooks.[a]
3 You will each go straight out
through breaches in the wall,(J)
and you will be cast out toward Harmon,[b]”
declares the Lord.
4 “Go to Bethel(K) and sin;
go to Gilgal(L) and sin yet more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,(M)
your tithes(N) every three years.[c](O)
5 Burn leavened bread(P) as a thank offering
and brag about your freewill offerings(Q)—
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.(R)
7 “I also withheld(S) rain from you
when the harvest was still three months away.
I sent rain on one town,
but withheld it from another.(T)
One field had rain;
another had none and dried up.
8 People staggered from town to town for water(U)
but did not get enough(V) to drink,
yet you have not returned(W) to me,”
declares the Lord.(X)
9 “Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,
destroying them with blight and mildew.(Y)
Locusts(Z) devoured your fig and olive trees,(AA)
yet you have not returned(AB) to me,”
declares the Lord.
10 “I sent plagues(AC) among you
as I did to Egypt.(AD)
I killed your young men(AE) with the sword,
along with your captured horses.
I filled your nostrils with the stench(AF) of your camps,
yet you have not returned to me,”(AG)
declares the Lord.(AH)
11 “I overthrew some of you
as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.(AI)
You were like a burning stick(AJ) snatched from the fire,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.(AK)
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,(AL)
who creates the wind,(AM)
and who reveals his thoughts(AN) to mankind,
who turns dawn to darkness,
and treads on the heights of the earth(AO)—
the Lord God Almighty is his name.(AP)
A Lament and Call to Repentance
5 Hear this word, Israel, this lament(AQ) I take up concerning you:
2 “Fallen is Virgin(AR) Israel,
never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
with no one to lift her up.(AS)”
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.(AT)”
4 This is what the Lord says to Israel:
“Seek(AU) me and live;(AV)
5 do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,(AW)
do not journey to Beersheba.(AX)
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.[d](AY)”
6 Seek(AZ) the Lord and live,(BA)
or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;(BB)
it will devour them,
and Bethel(BC) will have no one to quench it.(BD)
7 There are those who turn justice into bitterness(BE)
and cast righteousness(BF) to the ground.(BG)
8 He who made the Pleiades and Orion,(BH)
who turns midnight into dawn(BI)
and darkens day into night,(BJ)
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out over the face of the land—
the Lord is his name.(BK)
9 With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
and brings the fortified city to ruin.(BL)
10 There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court(BM)
and detest the one who tells the truth.(BN)
11 You levy a straw tax on the poor(BO)
and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,(BP)
you will not live in them;(BQ)
though you have planted lush vineyards,
you will not drink their wine.(BR)
12 For I know how many are your offenses
and how great your sins.(BS)
There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes(BT)
and deprive the poor(BU) of justice in the courts.(BV)
13 Therefore the prudent keep quiet(BW) in such times,
for the times are evil.(BX)
14 Seek good, not evil,
that you may live.(BY)
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
just as you say he is.
15 Hate evil,(BZ) love good;(CA)
maintain justice in the courts.(CB)
Perhaps(CC) the Lord God Almighty will have mercy(CD)
on the remnant(CE) of Joseph.
16 Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:
“There will be wailing(CF) in all the streets(CG)
and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers(CH) will be summoned to weep
and the mourners to wail.
17 There will be wailing(CI) in all the vineyards,
for I will pass through(CJ) your midst,”
says the Lord.(CK)
The Day of the Lord
18 Woe to you who long
for the day of the Lord!(CL)
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?(CM)
That day will be darkness,(CN) not light.(CO)
19 It will be as though a man fled from a lion
only to meet a bear,(CP)
as though he entered his house
and rested his hand on the wall
only to have a snake bite him.(CQ)
20 Will not the day of the Lord be darkness,(CR) not light—
pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?(CS)
21 “I hate,(CT) I despise your religious festivals;(CU)
your assemblies(CV) are a stench to me.
22 Even though you bring me burnt offerings(CW) and grain offerings,
I will not accept them.(CX)
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
I will have no regard for them.(CY)
23 Away with the noise of your songs!
I will not listen to the music of your harps.(CZ)
24 But let justice(DA) roll on like a river,
righteousness(DB) like a never-failing stream!(DC)
25 “Did you bring me sacrifices(DD) and offerings
forty years(DE) in the wilderness, people of Israel?
26 You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
the pedestal of your idols,(DF)
the star of your god[e]—
which you made for yourselves.
27 Therefore I will send you into exile(DG) beyond Damascus,”
says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.(DH)
Woe to the Complacent
6 Woe to you(DI) who are complacent(DJ) in Zion,
and to you who feel secure(DK) on Mount Samaria,(DL)
you notable men of the foremost nation,
to whom the people of Israel come!(DM)
2 Go to Kalneh(DN) and look at it;
go from there to great Hamath,(DO)
and then go down to Gath(DP) in Philistia.
Are they better off than(DQ) your two kingdoms?
Is their land larger than yours?
3 You put off the day of disaster
and bring near a reign of terror.(DR)
4 You lie on beds adorned with ivory
and lounge on your couches.(DS)
You dine on choice lambs
and fattened calves.(DT)
5 You strum away on your harps(DU) like David
and improvise on musical instruments.(DV)
6 You drink wine(DW) by the bowlful
and use the finest lotions,
but you do not grieve(DX) over the ruin of Joseph.(DY)
7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;(DZ)
your feasting and lounging will end.(EA)
The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel
8 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself(EB)—the Lord God Almighty declares:
“I abhor(EC) the pride of Jacob(ED)
and detest his fortresses;(EE)
I will deliver up(EF) the city
and everything in it.(EG)”
9 If ten(EH) 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[f](EI) asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush!(EJ) We must not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For the Lord has given the command,
and he will smash(EK) the great house(EL) into pieces
and the small house into bits.(EM)
Footnotes
- 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.
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition (NRSVUE)
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