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Thus the Lord Yahweh showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit.

He said, “Amos, what do you see?”

I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”

Then Yahweh said to me,

“The end has come on my people Israel.
    I will not again pass by them any more.
The songs of the temple will be wailing in that day,” says the Lord Yahweh.
    “The dead bodies will be many. In every place they will throw them out with silence.
Hear this, you who desire to 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 market wheat,
    making the ephah[a] small, and the shekel[b] large,
    and dealing falsely with balances of deceit;
that we may buy the poor for silver,
    and the needy for a pair of sandals,
    and sell the sweepings with the wheat?’”
Yahweh has sworn by the pride of Jacob,
    “Surely I will never forget any of their works.
Won’t the land tremble for this,
    and everyone mourn who dwells in it?
Yes, it will rise up wholly like the River;
    and it will be stirred up and sink again, like the River of Egypt.
It will happen in that day,” says the Lord Yahweh,
    “that I will cause the sun to go down at noon,
    and I will darken the earth in the clear day.
10 I will turn your feasts into mourning,
    and all your songs into lamentation;
and I will make you wear sackcloth on all your bodies,
    and baldness on every head.
I will make it like the mourning for an only son,
    and its end like a bitter day.
11 Behold, the days come,” says the Lord Yahweh,
    “that I will send a famine in the land,
    not a famine of bread,
    nor a thirst for water,
    but of hearing Yahweh’s words.
12 They will wander from sea to sea,
    and from the north even to the east;
    they will run back and forth to seek Yahweh’s word,
    and will not find it.
13 In that day the beautiful virgins
    and the young men will faint for thirst.
14 Those who swear by the sin of Samaria,
    and say, ‘As your god, Dan, lives;’
    and, ‘As the way of Beersheba lives;’
    they will fall, and never rise up again.”

Footnotes

  1. 8:5 1 ephah is about 22 liters or about 2/3 of a bushel
  2. 8:5 a normal shekel is about 10 grams or about 0.35 ounces.

Vision of the Summer Fruit

Thus the Lord God showed me: Behold, a basket of summer fruit. And He said, “Amos, what do you see?”

So I said, “A basket of summer fruit.”

Then the Lord said to me:

(A)“The end has come upon My people Israel;
(B)I will not pass by them anymore.
And (C)the songs of the temple
Shall be wailing in that day,”
Says the Lord God
“Many dead bodies everywhere,
(D)They shall be thrown out in silence.”

Hear this, you who [a]swallow up the needy,
And make the poor of the land fail,

Saying:

“When will the New Moon be past,
That we may sell grain?
And (E)the Sabbath,
That we may [b]trade wheat?
(F)Making the ephah small and the shekel large,
Falsifying the scales by (G)deceit,
That we may buy the poor for (H)silver,
And the needy for a pair of sandals—
Even sell the bad wheat?”

The Lord has sworn by (I)the pride of Jacob:
“Surely (J)I will never forget any of their works.
(K)Shall the land not tremble for this,
And everyone mourn who dwells in it?
All of it shall swell like [c]the River,
Heave and subside
(L)Like the River of Egypt.

“And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God,
(M)“That I will make the sun go down at noon,
And I will darken the earth in [d]broad daylight;
10 I will turn your feasts into (N)mourning,
(O)And all your songs into lamentation;
(P)I will bring sackcloth on every waist,
And baldness on every head;
I will make it like mourning for an only son,
And its end like a bitter day.

11 “Behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord God,
“That I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine of bread,
Nor a thirst for water,
But (Q)of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 They shall wander from sea to sea,
And from north to east;
They shall run to and fro, seeking the word of the Lord,
But shall (R)not find it.

13 “In that day the fair virgins
And strong young men
Shall faint from thirst.
14 Those who (S)swear by (T)the [e]sin of Samaria,
Who say,
‘As your god lives, O Dan!’
And, ‘As the way of (U)Beersheba lives!’
They shall fall and never rise again.”

Footnotes

  1. Amos 8:4 Or trample on, Amos 2:7
  2. Amos 8:5 Lit. open
  3. Amos 8:8 The Nile; some Heb. mss., LXX, Tg., Syr., Vg. River (cf. 9:5); MT the light
  4. Amos 8:9 Lit. a day of light
  5. Amos 8:14 Or Ashima, a Syrian goddess