Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a basket of summer fruit.

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.

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.

Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make the poor of the land to fail,

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?

That we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?

The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.

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.

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.

Basket of Fruit and Israel’s Captivity

This is what the Lord [a]God showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit. And He said, “What do you see, Amos?” And (A)I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The (B)end has come for My people Israel. I will not [b](C)spare them any longer. [c]The (D)songs of the palace will turn to (E)wailing on that day,” declares the Lord God. “The (F)corpses will be many; in every place [d]they will throw them out. [e]Hush!”

Hear this, you who [f](G)trample the needy, to put an end to the humble of the land, saying,

“When will the (H)new moon [g]be over,
So that we may sell grain;
And the (I)Sabbath, so that we may open the wheat market,
To make the [h]ephah smaller and the [i]shekel bigger,
And to (J)cheat with dishonest scales,
So as to (K)buy the helpless for [j]money,
And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”

The Lord has (L)sworn by the (M)pride of Jacob,
“Indeed, I will (N)never forget any of their deeds.
Because of this will the land not (O)quake,
And everyone who lives in it (P)mourn?
Indeed, all of it will (Q)rise up like the Nile,
And it will be tossed about
And subside like the Nile of Egypt.
And it will come about on that day,” declares the Lord God,
“That I will make the (R)sun go down at noon,
And (S)make the earth dark in [k]broad daylight.
10 Then I will (T)turn your festivals into mourning,
And all your songs into songs of mourning;
And I will put (U)sackcloth around everyone’s waist,
And [l]baldness on every head.
And I will make it (V)like a time of mourning for an only son,
And the end of it will be like a bitter day.

11 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“When I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread or a thirst for water,
But rather (W)for hearing the words of the Lord.
12 People will stagger from sea to sea
And from the north even to the east;
They will roam about to (X)seek the word of the Lord,
But they will not find it.
13 On that day the beautiful (Y)virgins
And the young men will (Z)faint from thirst.
14 As for those who swear by the [m](AA)guilt of Samaria,
And say, ‘As your god lives, (AB)Dan,’
And, ‘As the way of (AC)Beersheba lives,’
They will fall and (AD)not rise again.”

Footnotes

  1. Amos 8:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
  2. Amos 8:2 Lit pass him by
  3. Amos 8:3 Lit They will howl the palace songs
  4. Amos 8:3 Lit he has thrown
  5. Amos 8:3 An order for sacred silence
  6. Amos 8:4 Or snap at
  7. Amos 8:5 Lit pass by
  8. Amos 8:5 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
  9. Amos 8:5 About 0.5 oz. or 14 gm
  10. Amos 8:6 Lit silver
  11. Amos 8:9 Lit a day of light
  12. Amos 8:10 I.e., shaved as a sign of mourning
  13. Amos 8:14 Or Ashimah

Thus the Lord Jehovah showed me: and, behold, a basket of summer fruit. And he said, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said Jehovah unto me, The end is come upon my people Israel; I will not again pass by them any more. And the songs of the [a]temple shall be wailings in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah: the dead bodies shall be many; in every place [b]shall they cast them forth with silence.

Hear this, O ye that would swallow up the needy, and cause the poor of the land to fail, saying, When will the new moon be gone, that we may sell grain? and the sabbath, that we may [c]set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the shekel great, and dealing falsely with balances of deceit; that we may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of shoes, and sell the refuse of the wheat? Jehovah hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works. Shall not the land tremble for this, and every one mourn that dwelleth therein? yea, it shall rise up wholly like the River; and it shall be troubled and sink again, like the River of Egypt. And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah, 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 sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning for an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.

11 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord Jehovah, 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 Jehovah. 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 Jehovah, and shall not find it. 13 In that day shall the fair virgins and the young men faint for thirst. 14 They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, As thy god, O Dan, liveth; and, As the [d]way of Beer-sheba liveth; they shall fall, and never rise up again.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 8:3 Or, palace
  2. Amos 8:3 Or, have they cast them forth: be silent!
  3. Amos 8:5 Hebrew open.
  4. Amos 8:14 Or, manner