Amos 7
New Living Translation
A Vision of Locusts
7 The Sovereign Lord showed me a vision. I saw him preparing to send a vast swarm of locusts over the land. This was after the king’s share had been harvested from the fields and as the main crop was coming up. 2 In my vision the locusts ate every green plant in sight. Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, please forgive us or we will not survive, for Israel[a] is so small.”
3 So the Lord relented from this plan. “I will not do it,” he said.
A Vision of Fire
4 Then the Sovereign Lord showed me another vision. I saw him preparing to punish his people with a great fire. The fire had burned up the depths of the sea and was devouring the entire land. 5 Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, please stop or we will not survive, for Israel is so small.”
6 Then the Lord relented from this plan, too. “I will not do that either,” said the Sovereign Lord.
A Vision of a Plumb Line
7 Then he showed me another vision. I saw the Lord standing beside a wall that had been built using a plumb line. He was using a plumb line to see if it was still straight. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”
I answered, “A plumb line.”
And the Lord replied, “I will test my people with this plumb line. I will no longer ignore all their sins. 9 The pagan shrines of your ancestors[b] will be ruined, and the temples of Israel will be destroyed; I will bring the dynasty of King Jeroboam to a sudden end.”
Amos and Amaziah
10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam, king of Israel: “Amos is hatching a plot against you right here on your very doorstep! What he is saying is intolerable. 11 He is saying, ‘Jeroboam will soon be killed, and the people of Israel will be sent away into exile.’”
12 Then Amaziah sent orders to Amos: “Get out of here, you prophet! Go on back to the land of Judah, and earn your living by prophesying there! 13 Don’t bother us with your prophecies here in Bethel. This is the king’s sanctuary and the national place of worship!”
14 But Amos replied, “I’m not a professional prophet, and I was never trained to be one.[c] I’m just a shepherd, and I take care of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the Lord called me away from my flock and told me, ‘Go and prophesy to my people in Israel.’ 16 Now then, listen to this message from the Lord:
“You say,
‘Don’t prophesy against Israel.
Stop preaching against my people.[d]’
17 But this is what the Lord says:
‘Your wife will become a prostitute in this city,
and your sons and daughters will be killed.
Your land will be divided up,
and you yourself will die in a foreign land.
And the people of Israel will certainly become captives in exile,
far from their homeland.’”
Amos 7
Living Bible
7 This is what the Lord God showed me in a vision: He was preparing a vast swarm of locusts to destroy all the main crop that sprang up after the first mowing, which went as taxes to the king. 2 They ate everything in sight. Then I said, “O Lord God, please forgive your people! Don’t send them this plague! If you turn against Israel, what hope is there? For Israel is so small!”
3 So the Lord relented and did not fulfill the vision. “I won’t do it,” he told me.
4 Then the Lord God showed me a great fire he had prepared to punish them; it had burned up the waters and was devouring the entire land.
5 Then I said, “O Lord God, please don’t do it. If you turn against them, what hope is there? For Israel is so small!”
6 Then the Lord turned from this plan too, and said, “I won’t do that either.”
7 Then he showed me this: The Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, checking it with a plumb line to see if it was straight. 8 And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”
I answered, “A plumb line.”
And he replied, “I will test my people with a plumb line. I will no longer turn away from punishing. 9 The idol altars and temples of Israel will be destroyed, and I will destroy the dynasty of King Jeroboam by the sword.”
10 But when Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, heard what Amos was saying, he rushed a message to Jeroboam, the king: “Amos is a traitor to our nation and is plotting your death. This is intolerable. It will lead to rebellion all across the land. 11 He says you will be killed and Israel will be sent far away into exile and slavery.”
12 Then Amaziah sent orders to Amos, “Get out of here, you prophet, you! Flee to the land of Judah and do your prophesying there! 13 Don’t bother us here with your visions, not here in the capital where the king’s chapel is!”
14 But Amos replied, “I am not really one of the prophets. I do not come from a family of prophets. I am just a herdsman and fruit picker. 15 But the Lord took me from caring for the flocks and told me, ‘Go and prophesy to my people Israel.’
16 “Now, therefore, listen to this message to you from the Lord. You say, ‘Don’t prophesy against Israel.’ 17 The Lord’s reply is this: ‘Because of your interference, your wife will become a prostitute in this city, your sons and daughters will be killed, and your land divided up. You yourself will die in a heathen land, and the people of Israel will certainly become slaves in exile, far from their land.’”
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.