Amos 7
Christian Standard Bible
First Vision: Locusts
7 The Lord God showed me this: He was forming a swarm of locusts(A) at the time the spring crop first began to sprout—after the cutting of the king’s hay. 2 When the locusts finished eating the vegetation of the land,(B) I said, “Lord God, please forgive!(C) How will Jacob survive since he is so small?” (D)
3 The Lord relented concerning this.(E) “It will not happen,” he said.
Second Vision: Fire
4 The Lord God showed me this: The Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire.(F) It consumed the great deep and devoured the land. 5 Then I said, “Lord God, please stop!(G) How will Jacob survive since he is so small?”
6 The Lord relented concerning this.(H) “This will not happen either,” said the Lord God.
Third Vision: A Plumb Line
7 He showed me this: The Lord was standing there by a vertical wall with a plumb line in his hand. 8 The Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” (I)
I replied, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said, “I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel;(J) I will no longer spare them:(K)
9 Isaac’s high places(L) will be deserted,
and Israel’s sanctuaries will be in ruins;(M)
I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam
with a sword.”
Amaziah’s Opposition
10 Amaziah the priest(N) of Bethel sent word to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you(O) right here in the house of Israel. The land cannot endure all his words, 11 for Amos has said this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile from its homeland.’”(P)
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer!(Q) Flee to the land of Judah. Earn your living[a] and give your prophecies there, 13 but don’t ever prophesy(R) at Bethel again, for it is the king’s sanctuary(S) and a royal temple.”
14 So Amos answered Amaziah, “I was[b] not a prophet or the son of a prophet;[c](T) rather, I was[d] a herdsman,(U) and I took care of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from following the flock(V) and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”(W)
16 Now hear the word of the Lord. You say:
17 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
Amos 7
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Locusts, Fire, and a Plumb Line
7 This is what the Lord God showed me: he was forming locusts at the time the latter growth began to sprout (it was the latter growth after the king’s mowings).(A) 2 When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,
“O Lord God, forgive, I beg you!
How can Jacob stand?
He is so small!”(B)
3 The Lord relented concerning this;
“It shall not be,” said the Lord.(C)
4 This is what the Lord God showed me: the Lord God was calling for judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5 Then I said,
“O Lord God, cease, I beg you!
How can Jacob stand?
He is so small!”(D)
6 The Lord relented concerning this;
“This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.(E)
7 This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,
“See, I am setting a plumb line
in the midst of my people Israel;
I will spare them no longer;(F)
9 the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”(G)
Amaziah Complains to the King
10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words.(H) 11 For thus Amos has said,
‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel must go into exile
away from his land.’ ”(I)
12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”(J)
14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am[a] no prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I am[b] a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees,(K) 15 and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’(L)
16 “Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.
You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’(M)
17 Therefore thus says the Lord:
Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
and your land shall be parceled out by line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.”(N)
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
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.