Fifth Vision: The Lord beside the Altar

I saw the Lord standing beside the altar,(A) and He said:

Strike the capitals of the pillars(B)
so that the thresholds shake;
knock them down on the heads of all the people.
Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword.(C)
None of those who flee will get away;(D)
none of the fugitives will escape.
If they dig down to Sheol,(E)
from there My hand will take them;
if they climb up to heaven,(F)
from there I will bring them down.
If they hide themselves
on the top of Carmel,
from there I will track them down(G)
and seize them;
if they conceal themselves
from My sight on the sea floor,(H)
from there I will command
the sea serpent to bite them.(I)
And if they are driven
by their enemies into captivity,(J)
from there I will command
the sword to kill them.(K)
I will fix My eyes on them
for harm and not for good.(L)

The Lord, the God of Hosts—
He touches the earth;(M)
it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn;
all of it rises like the Nile
and subsides like the Nile of Egypt.(N)
He builds His upper chambers
in the heavens(O)
and lays the foundation of His vault
on the earth.(P)
He summons the waters of the sea
and pours them out on the face of the earth.(Q)
Yahweh is His name.(R)

Announcement of Judgment

Israelites, are you not like the Cushites to Me?(S)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Didn’t I bring Israel from the land of Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor,[a](T)
and the Arameans from Kir?(U)
Look, the eyes of the Lord God
are on the sinful kingdom,(V)
and I will destroy it
from the face of the earth.(W)
However, I will not totally destroy
the house of Jacob(X)
this is the Lord’s declaration—
for I am about to give the command,
and I will shake the house of Israel(Y)
among all the nations,
as one shakes a sieve,
but not a pebble will fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners among My people(Z)
who say: “Disaster will never overtake[b]
or confront us,”(AA)
will die by the sword.

Announcement of Restoration

11 In that day
I will restore the fallen booth(AB) of David:(AC)
I will repair its gaps,
restore its ruins,(AD)
and rebuild it as in the days of old,(AE)
12 so that they may possess
the remnant of Edom(AF)
and all the nations
that are called by My name[c](AG)
this is the Lord’s declaration—

He will do this.

13 Hear this! The days are coming—
this is the Lord’s declaration—
when the plowman will overtake the reaper(AH)
and the one who treads grapes,
the sower of seed.
The mountains will drip with sweet wine,
and all the hills will flow with it.(AI)
14 I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel.[d](AJ)
They will rebuild and occupy ruined cities,(AK)
plant vineyards and drink their wine,
make gardens and eat their produce.(AL)
15 I will plant them on their land,
and they will never again be uprooted
from the land I have given them.(AM)
Yahweh your God has spoken.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:7 Probably Crete
  2. Amos 9:10 Or You will not let disaster come near
  3. Amos 9:12 LXX reads so that the remnant of man and all the nations . . . may seek [Me]; Ac 15:17
  4. Amos 9:14 Or restore My people Israel from captivity

Israel to be Destroyed

I saw the Lord standing beside the altar as he was saying,

“Strike the doorposts
    so that the thresholds tremble,
        bringing them down on the heads of all of them.
Those who survive I will kill with the sword.
    Those who flee will not escape.
        There will be no deliverance for the fugitives.

“Even if they burrow into Sheol,[a]
    from there my hand will find them.
Even if they ascend to the heavens,
    from there I will bring them down.
Even if they hide at the top of Mount[b] Carmel,
    from there I will search and seize them.
Even if they hide from my sight in the depths of the sea,
    from there I will order the serpent to strike them.
Even if they go into exile among their enemies,
    from there I will order the sword to kill them.
I will fix my gaze on them to inflict disaster,
    and not to do good.[c]

“The Lord God of the Heavenly Armies
who is touching the earth so that it melts
    and all of its inhabitants mourn there—
        the land rises like the Nile[d] River,
        but sinks like the river of Egypt—
who is building his stairway to heaven
    and setting its foundation on earth;
who is calling for the waters of the sea
    and pouring them out over the surface of the land—
        the Lord is his name!

“Aren’t you people of Israel like the people of Cush to me?”
    declares the Lord.
“I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt, did I not,
    as well as the Philistines from Caphtor[e]
        and the Arameans from Kir?
Look! The eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom.
    I will destroy it from the face of the earth;
but I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob,”
    declares the Lord.
“Look! I’m giving the order:
    I will sift the house of Israel throughout all the nations,
        as one sifts with a sieve,
    yet not a single kernel will reach the ground!
10 All sinners among my people will die by the sword,
    especially all who are saying,
        ‘Disaster will not come upon or conquer us!’”

Israel to be Restored

11 “At that time I will restore David’s fallen tent,
    restoring its torn places.
I will restore its ruins,
    rebuilding it as it was long ago,
12 so my people[f] may inherit the remnant of Edom
    and all of the nations that bear my name,”
        declares the Lord who is bringing this about.

13 “Look! The days are coming,”
    declares the Lord,
“when the one who sows will overtake the harvester
    and the treader of grapes will overtake[g] the planter.
Fresh wine will drip down from the mountains,
    cascading down from the hills.
14 I will surely restore my people Israel;
    they will rebuild the ruined cities
        and inhabit them.[h]
They will plant vineyards
    and drink the wine from them.
They will plant gardens
    and eat the fruit from them.
15 I will plant the people of Israel[i] in their own land,
    never again to be torn out of their land
        that I gave them,”
    says the Lord your God.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:2 I.e. the realm of the dead
  2. Amos 9:3 The Heb. lacks Mount
  3. Amos 9:4 Lit. them for evil and not for good.
  4. Amos 9:5 The Heb. lacks Nile
  5. Amos 9:7 I.e. possibly Crete
  6. Amos 9:12 Lit. so they
  7. Amos 9:13 The Heb. lacks will overtake
  8. Amos 9:14 The Heb. lacks them
  9. Amos 9:15 Lit. plant them