The Destruction of Israel

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

“Strike the [a]doorposts, that the thresholds may shake,
And (A)break them on the heads of them all.
I will slay the last of them with the sword.
(B)He who flees from them shall not get away,
And he who escapes from them shall not be delivered.

“Though(C) they dig into [b]hell,
From there My hand shall take them;
(D)Though they climb up to heaven,
From there I will bring them down;
And though they (E)hide themselves on top of Carmel,
From there I will search and take them;
Though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea,
From there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them;
Though they go into captivity before their enemies,
From there (F)I will command the sword,
And it shall slay them.
(G)I will set My eyes on them for harm and not for good.”

The Lord God of hosts,
He who touches the earth and it (H)melts,
(I)And all who dwell there mourn;
All of it shall swell like [c]the River,
And subside like the River of Egypt.
He who builds His (J)layers[d] in the sky,
And has founded His strata in the earth;
Who (K)calls for the waters of the sea,
And pours them out on the face of the earth—
(L)The Lord is His name.

Are you not like the [e]people of Ethiopia to Me,
O children of Israel?” says the Lord.
“Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,
The (M)Philistines from (N)Caphtor,[f]
And the Syrians from (O)Kir?

“Behold, (P)the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom,
And I (Q)will destroy it from the face of the earth;
Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,”
Says the Lord.

“For surely I will command,
And will [g]sift the house of Israel among all nations,
As grain is sifted in a sieve;
(R)Yet not the smallest [h]grain shall fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners of My people shall die by the sword,
(S)Who say, ‘The calamity shall not overtake nor confront us.’

Israel Will Be Restored

11 “On(T) that day I will raise up
The [i]tabernacle of David, which has fallen down,
And [j]repair its damages;
I will raise up its ruins,
And rebuild it as in the days of old;
12 (U)That they may possess the remnant of (V)Edom,[k]
And all the Gentiles who are called by My name,”
Says the Lord who does this thing.

13 “Behold, (W)the days are coming,” says the Lord,
“When the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
And the treader of grapes him who sows seed;
(X)The mountains shall drip with sweet wine,
And all the hills shall flow with it.
14 (Y)I will bring back the captives of My people Israel;
(Z)They shall build the waste cities and inhabit them;
They shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them;
They shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
15 I will plant them in their land,
(AA)And no longer shall they be pulled up
From the land I have given them,”
Says the Lord your God.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:1 Capitals of the pillars
  2. Amos 9:2 Or Sheol
  3. Amos 9:5 The Nile
  4. Amos 9:6 Or stairs
  5. Amos 9:7 Lit. sons of the Ethiopians
  6. Amos 9:7 Crete
  7. Amos 9:9 shake
  8. Amos 9:9 Lit. pebble
  9. Amos 9:11 Lit. booth; a figure of a deposed dynasty
  10. Amos 9:11 Lit. wall up its breaches
  11. Amos 9:12 LXX mankind

Destruction of Israel

I saw my Lord standing by the altar and he said, “Strike the capitals so that the thresholds will shake, and shatter them on the head of all of them, and I will kill the rest of them with the sword. A fugitive belonging to them will not run away, and a survivor belonging to them will not escape. If they dig into Sheol, from there my hand will take them, and even if they climb up to heaven, from there I will bring them down. And even if they hide themselves on the top of Carmel, from there I will search and will take them, and even if they hide from before my eyes at the bottom of the sea, from there I will command the sea serpent and it will bite them. And even if they go into captivity before their enemies, from there I will command the sword and it will kill them, and I will fix my eyes on them for harm and not for good.” And thus will do the Lord Yahweh of hosts, who touches the earth and it melts, and all of those living in it mourn, and all of it rises like the Nile and it sinks down like the Nile of Egypt, who builds his upper chambers in the heavens and lays the foundation of his vault on the earth, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them on the surface of the earth—Yahweh is his name. “Are you not like the Cushites to me, O people of Israel?” declares[a] Yahweh. “Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans[b] from Kir? Look, the eyes of my Lord Yahweh are on the kingdom of sin, and I will destroy it from the surface of the earth. However, I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” declares[c] Yahweh. “Yes, look, I am going to command and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations like one who shakes with a sieve, but not a pebble will fall to the ground. 10 All the sinners of my people will die by the sword, who say, ‘Evil will not overtake or confront us.’

Restoration of Israel

11 On that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen, and I will repair its breaches and will raise up its ruins and will build it like the days of old. 12 Thus they may take possession of the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,”[d] declares[e] Yahweh, who does this. 13 “Look, days are coming,” declares[f] Yahweh, “when the one who plows will overtake the one who reaps, the one who treads grapes will catch up with the one who sows the seed. And the mountains will drip sweet wine and all of the hills will flow with it. 14 And I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel, and they will rebuild the desolated cities and will inhabit them. And they will plant vineyards and will drink their wine, and they will make gardens and will eat their fruit. 15 And I will plant them on their land and they will not be uprooted again from their land that I have given to them,” says Yahweh your God.

Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:7 Literally “a declaration of”
  2. Amos 9:7 Literally “Aram”
  3. Amos 9:8 Literally “a declaration of”
  4. Amos 9:12 Literally “who my name is called over them”
  5. Amos 9:12 Literally “a declaration of”
  6. Amos 9:13 Literally “a declaration of”