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The Destruction of Israel

I saw the Lord standing beside[a] the altar, and he said:

Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake
    and shatter them on the heads of all the people,[b]
and those who are left I will kill with the sword;
    not one of them shall flee away,
    not one of them shall escape.(A)

Though they dig into Sheol,
    from there shall my hand take them;
though they climb up to heaven,
    from there I will bring them down.(B)
Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
    from there I will search out and take them;
and though they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,
    there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.(C)
And though they go into captivity in front of their enemies,
    there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them;
and I will fix my eyes on them
    for harm and not for good.(D)

The Lord, God of hosts,
he who touches the earth and it melts,
    and all who live in it mourn,
and all of it rises like the Nile
    and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt,(E)
who builds his upper chambers in the heavens
    and founds his vault upon the earth,
who calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out upon the surface of the earth—
the Lord is his name.(F)

Are you not like the Cushites to me,
    O people of Israel? says the Lord.
Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt
    and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?(G)
The eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom,
    and I will destroy it from the face of the earth
    —except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,
            says the Lord.(H)

For I will command
    and shake the house of Israel among all the nations,
as one shakes with a sieve
    but no pebble shall fall to the ground.(I)
10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,
    who say, “Evil shall not overtake or meet us.”(J)

The Restoration of David’s Kingdom

11 On that day I will raise up
    the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its[c] breaches
    and raise up its[d] ruins
    and rebuild it as in the days of old,(K)
12 in order that they may possess the remnant of Edom
    and all the nations who are called by my name,
    says the Lord who does this.(L)

13 The time is surely coming, says the Lord,
    when the one who plows shall catch up with the one who reaps
    and the treader of grapes with the one who sows the seed;
the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
    and all the hills shall flow with it.(M)
14 I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
    and they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
    and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.(N)
15 I will plant them upon their land,
    and they shall never again be plucked up
    out of the land that I have given them,
            says the Lord your God.(O)

Footnotes

  1. 9.1 Or on
  2. 9.1 Heb all of them
  3. 9.11 Gk: Heb their
  4. 9.11 Gk: Heb his

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”