Add parallel Print Page Options

Chapter 9

The Vision of the Destroyed Sanctuary. I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said:

Strike the tops of the pillars until the thresholds shake,
    and bring them down on the heads of all the people.
Should any survive,
    I will slay them with the sword.
Not one will be able to flee;
    not one will escape.
Even should they dig down to the netherworld,
    from there my hand will take them.
Even though they climb up to heaven,
    I will bring them down.
Should they hide themselves on the summit of Carmel,
    there I will track them down and take them.
Should they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,
    I will command the serpent there to bite them.
If they are led by their enemies into captivity,
    there I shall command the sword to slay them.
I will fix my eyes on them
    for evil, and not for good.

Psalm of Praise

The Lord, the God of hosts,
    touches the earth and it melts
    so that all who live on it mourn,
while the entire earth rises up like the Nile[a]
    and then subsides like the River of Egypt.
He builds his upper chambers in the heavens
    and establishes his vault of the sky over the earth—
    the Lord is his name.

The Lord says:

Are you not like the Ethiopians to me,
    O people of Israel?
Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt,
    and the Philistines from Caphtor,
    and the Arameans from Kir?
Behold, I, the Lord God,
    have my eyes upon this sinful kingdom,
    and I will destroy it from the face of the earth.

The Time of Renewal

I Will Raise Up the Hut of David

However, I will not completely destroy the house of Jacob,
    says the Lord.
For I will give the command
    and shake out the house of Israel
    from among all the nations,
as one sifts with a sieve
    without one pebble falling to the ground.
10 All the sinners among my people shall die by the sword,
    those who say, “Evil will not approach or overtake us.”
11 On that day I shall raise up
    the fallen hut of David.
I will repair the gaps in its walls,
    restore its ruins,
    and rebuild it as in the days of old,
12 so that Israel may possess the remnant of Edom
    and of all the nations that bear my name;
    I, the Lord, will accomplish this.

I Will Reestablish My People Israel

13 The days are surely coming,
    says the Lord,
when the plowman shall overtake
    the one who reaps,
and the treader of grapes will overtake
    the one who sows the seed.
New wine will drip from the mountains,
    and every hill will flow with it.
14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel;
    they will rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them.
They will plant vineyards and drink their wine,
    cultivate gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant them in their own soil,
    and they shall never again be uprooted
from the land I have given them.
    This is the word of the Lord, your God.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:5 The Nile was famous for its periodic flooding.

Israel to Be Destroyed

I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:

“Strike the tops of the pillars
    so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads(A) of all the people;
    those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
    none will escape.(B)
Though they dig down to the depths below,(C)
    from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,(D)
    from there I will bring them down.(E)
Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,(F)
    there I will hunt them down and seize them.(G)
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,(H)
    there I will command the serpent(I) to bite them.(J)
Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
    there I will command the sword(K) to slay them.

“I will keep my eye on them
    for harm(L) and not for good.(M)(N)

The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,(O)
    and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
    then sinks like the river of Egypt;(P)
he builds his lofty palace[a](Q) in the heavens
    and sets its foundation[b] on the earth;
he calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out over the face of the land—
    the Lord is his name.(R)

“Are not you Israelites
    the same to me as the Cushites[c]?”(S)
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
    the Philistines(T) from Caphtor[d](U)
    and the Arameans from Kir?(V)

“Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
    are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy(W) it
    from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
    the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.(X)
“For I will give the command,
    and I will shake the people of Israel
    among all the nations
as grain(Y) is shaken in a sieve,(Z)
    and not a pebble will reach the ground.(AA)
10 All the sinners among my people
    will die by the sword,(AB)
all those who say,
    ‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’(AC)

Israel’s Restoration

11 “In that day

“I will restore David’s(AD) fallen shelter(AE)
    I will repair its broken walls
    and restore its ruins(AF)
    and will rebuild it as it used to be,(AG)
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom(AH)
    and all the nations that bear my name,[e](AI)
declares the Lord, who will do these things.(AJ)

13 “The days are coming,”(AK) declares the Lord,

“when the reaper(AL) will be overtaken by the plowman(AM)
    and the planter by the one treading(AN) grapes.
New wine(AO) will drip from the mountains
    and flow from all the hills,(AP)
14     and I will bring(AQ) my people Israel back from exile.[f](AR)

“They will rebuild the ruined cities(AS) and live in them.
    They will plant vineyards(AT) and drink their wine;
    they will make gardens and eat their fruit.(AU)
15 I will plant(AV) Israel in their own land,(AW)
    never again to be uprooted(AX)
    from the land I have given them,”(AY)

says the Lord your God.(AZ)

Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Amos 9:7 That is, people from the upper Nile region
  4. Amos 9:7 That is, Crete
  5. Amos 9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint so that the remnant of people / and all the nations that bear my name may seek me
  6. Amos 9:14 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel