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Amos 6-9
New International Version
Amos 6-9
New International Version
Woe to the Complacent
6 Woe to you(A) who are complacent(B) in Zion,
and to you who feel secure(C) on Mount Samaria,(D)
you notable men of the foremost nation,
to whom the people of Israel come!(E)
2 Go to Kalneh(F) and look at it;
go from there to great Hamath,(G)
and then go down to Gath(H) in Philistia.
Are they better off than(I) your two kingdoms?
Is their land larger than yours?
3 You put off the day of disaster
and bring near a reign of terror.(J)
4 You lie on beds adorned with ivory
and lounge on your couches.(K)
You dine on choice lambs
and fattened calves.(L)
5 You strum away on your harps(M) like David
and improvise on musical instruments.(N)
6 You drink wine(O) by the bowlful
and use the finest lotions,
but you do not grieve(P) over the ruin of Joseph.(Q)
7 Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;(R)
your feasting and lounging will end.(S)
The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel
8 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself(T)—the Lord God Almighty declares:
“I abhor(U) the pride of Jacob(V)
and detest his fortresses;(W)
I will deliver up(X) the city
and everything in it.(Y)”
9 If ten(Z) 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[a](AA) asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush!(AB) We must not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For the Lord has given the command,
and he will smash(AC) the great house(AD) into pieces
and the small house into bits.(AE)
12 Do horses run on the rocky crags?
Does one plow the sea[b] with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison(AF)
and the fruit of righteousness(AG) into bitterness(AH)—
13 you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar[c]
and say, “Did we not take Karnaim[d] by our own strength?(AI)”
14 For the Lord God Almighty declares,
“I will stir up a nation(AJ) against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
from Lebo Hamath(AK) to the valley of the Arabah.(AL)”
Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line
7 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(AM) He was preparing swarms of locusts(AN) 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,(AO) I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive?(AP) He is so small!(AQ)”
3 So the Lord relented.(AR)
“This will not happen,” the Lord said.(AS)
4 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire;(AT) it dried up the great deep and devoured(AU) the land. 5 Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!(AV)”
6 So the Lord relented.(AW)
“This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said.(AX)
7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,[e] with a plumb line[f] in his hand. 8 And the Lord asked me, “What do you see,(AY) Amos?(AZ)”
“A plumb line,(BA)” I replied.
Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.(BB)
9 “The high places(BC) of Isaac will be destroyed
and the sanctuaries(BD) of Israel will be ruined;
with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.(BE)”
Amos and Amaziah
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel(BF) sent a message to Jeroboam(BG) king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy(BH) against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.(BI) 11 For this is what Amos is saying:
“‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely go into exile,(BJ)
away from their native land.’”(BK)
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer!(BL) Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.(BM) 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel,(BN) because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple(BO) of the kingdom.(BP)”
14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet(BQ) nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.(BR) 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock(BS) and said to me, ‘Go,(BT) prophesy(BU) to my people Israel.’(BV) 16 Now then, hear(BW) the word of the Lord. You say,
“‘Do not prophesy against(BX) Israel,
and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’
17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“‘Your wife will become a prostitute(BY) 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[g] country.
And Israel will surely go into exile,(BZ)
away from their native land.(CA)’”
A Basket of Ripe Fruit
8 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(CB) a basket of ripe fruit. 2 “What do you see,(CC) Amos?(CD)” he asked.
“A basket(CE) 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.(CF)
3 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing.[h](CG) Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!(CH)”
5 saying,
“When will the New Moon(CK) be over
that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
that we may market(CL) wheat?”(CM)—
skimping on the measure,
boosting the price
and cheating(CN) with dishonest scales,(CO)
6 buying the poor(CP) with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling even the sweepings with the wheat.(CQ)
7 The Lord has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob:(CR) “I will never forget(CS) anything they have done.(CT)
8 “Will not the land tremble(CU) 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.(CV)
9 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord,
“I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.(CW)
10 I will turn your religious festivals(CX) into mourning
and all your singing into weeping.(CY)
I will make all of you wear sackcloth(CZ)
and shave(DA) your heads.
I will make that time like mourning for an only son(DB)
and the end of it like a bitter day.(DC)
11 “The days are coming,”(DD) 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(DE) of hearing the words of the Lord.(DF)
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.(DG)
13 “In that day
“the lovely young women and strong young men(DH)
will faint because of thirst.(DI)
14 Those who swear by the sin of Samaria(DJ)—
who say, ‘As surely as your god lives, Dan,’(DK)
or, ‘As surely as the god[i] of Beersheba(DL) lives’—
they will fall,(DM) never to rise again.(DN)”
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(DO) of all the people;
those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
none will escape.(DP)
2 Though they dig down to the depths below,(DQ)
from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,(DR)
from there I will bring them down.(DS)
3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,(DT)
there I will hunt them down and seize them.(DU)
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,(DV)
there I will command the serpent(DW) to bite them.(DX)
4 Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
there I will command the sword(DY) to slay them.
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,(EC)
and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
then sinks like the river of Egypt;(ED)
6 he builds his lofty palace[j](EE) in the heavens
and sets its foundation[k] 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.(EF)
7 “Are not you Israelites
the same to me as the Cushites[l]?”(EG)
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
the Philistines(EH) from Caphtor[m](EI)
and the Arameans from Kir?(EJ)
8 “Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy(EK) it
from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.(EL)
9 “For I will give the command,
and I will shake the people of Israel
among all the nations
as grain(EM) is shaken in a sieve,(EN)
and not a pebble will reach the ground.(EO)
10 All the sinners among my people
will die by the sword,(EP)
all those who say,
‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’(EQ)
Israel’s Restoration
11 “In that day
“I will restore David’s(ER) fallen shelter(ES)—
I will repair its broken walls
and restore its ruins(ET)—
and will rebuild it as it used to be,(EU)
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom(EV)
and all the nations that bear my name,[n](EW)”
declares the Lord, who will do these things.(EX)
13 “The days are coming,”(EY) declares the Lord,
“when the reaper(EZ) will be overtaken by the plowman(FA)
and the planter by the one treading(FB) grapes.
New wine(FC) will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills,(FD)
14 and I will bring(FE) my people Israel back from exile.[o](FF)
“They will rebuild the ruined cities(FG) and live in them.
They will plant vineyards(FH) and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.(FI)
15 I will plant(FJ) Israel in their own land,(FK)
never again to be uprooted(FL)
from the land I have given them,”(FM)
says the Lord your God.(FN)
Footnotes
- 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
Amos 6-9
King James Version
Amos 6-9
King James Version
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.
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