Amos 8
Legacy Standard Bible
A Famine for Hearing the Words of Yahweh
8 Thus Lord Yahweh showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, “What do you see, Amos?” And (A)I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then Yahweh said to me, “The (B)end has come for My people Israel. I will (C)pass over them no longer. 3 And they will (D)wail with the (E)songs of the palace in that day,” declares Lord Yahweh. “Many will be the (F)corpses; in every place [a]they will cast them forth [b]in silence.”
4 Hear this, you who [c](G)trample the needy, even to cause the humble of the land to cease, 5 saying,
“When will the (H)new moon pass over,
So that we may sell grain,
And the (I)sabbath, that we may open the wheat market,
To make the [d]bushel smaller and the [e]shekel bigger,
And to (J)cheat with a deceptive balance,
6 So as to (K)buy the poor for [f]money
And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”
7 Yahweh has (L)sworn by the (M)lofty pride of Jacob,
“Indeed, I will (N)never forget any of their works.
8 Because of this will not the land (O)tremble
And everyone who inhabits 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.
9 And it will be in that day,” declares Lord Yahweh,
“That I will make the (R)sun go down at noon
And (S)make the earth dark in [g]broad daylight.
10 Then I will (T)overturn your feasts into mourning
And all your songs into [h]lamentation;
And I will bring up (U)sackcloth on everyone’s loins
And 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 Lord Yahweh,
“When I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water,
But rather (W)for hearing the words of Yahweh.
12 People will wander from sea to sea
And from the north even to the east;
They will go to and fro to (X)seek the word of Yahweh,
But they will not find it.
13 In that day the beautiful (Y)virgins
And the choice men will (Z)faint from thirst.
14 As for those who swear by the [i](AA)guilt of Samaria,
Who say, ‘As your god lives, O (AB)Dan,’
And, ‘As the way of (AC)Beersheba lives,’
They will fall and (AD)not rise again.”
Amos 8
New American Standard Bible
Basket of Fruit and Israel’s Captivity
8 This is what the Lord [a]God showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit. 2 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. 3 [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!”
4 Hear this, you who [f](G)trample the needy, to put an end to the humble of the land, 5 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,
6 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?”
7 The Lord has (L)sworn by the (M)pride of Jacob,
“Indeed, I will (N)never forget any of their deeds.
8 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.
9 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
- Amos 8:1 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord, and so throughout the ch
- Amos 8:2 Lit pass him by
- Amos 8:3 Lit They will howl the palace songs
- Amos 8:3 Lit he has thrown
- Amos 8:3 An order for sacred silence
- Amos 8:4 Or snap at
- Amos 8:5 Lit pass by
- Amos 8:5 About 1 cubic foot or 0.03 cubic meters
- Amos 8:5 About 0.5 oz. or 14 gm
- Amos 8:6 Lit silver
- Amos 8:9 Lit a day of light
- Amos 8:10 I.e., shaved as a sign of mourning
- Amos 8:14 Or Ashimah
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