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I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and he said, “Strike the tops of the pillars, that the thresholds may shake; and break them in pieces on the head of all of them; and I will kill the last of them with the sword: there shall not one of them flee away, and there shall not one of them escape. Though they dig into Sheol,[a] there my hand will take them; and though they climb up to heaven, there I will bring them down. Though they hide themselves in the top of Carmel, I will search and take them out from there; and though they be hidden from my sight in the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent, and it will bite them. Though they go into captivity before their enemies, there I will command the sword, and it will kill them. I will set my eyes on them for evil, and not for good. For the Lord, Yahweh of Armies, is he who touches the land and it melts, and all who dwell in it will mourn; and it will rise up wholly like the River, and will sink again, like the River of Egypt. It is he who builds his rooms in the heavens, and has founded his vault on the earth; he who calls for the waters of the sea, and pours them out on the surface of the earth; Yahweh is his name. Are you not like the children of the Ethiopians to me, children of Israel?” says Yahweh. “Haven’t I brought up Israel out of the land of Egypt, and the Philistines from Caphtor, and the Syrians from Kir? Behold, the eyes of the Lord Yahweh are on the sinful kingdom, and I will destroy it from off the surface of the earth; except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,” says Yahweh. “For, behold, I will command, and I will sift the house of Israel among all the nations, as grain is sifted in a sieve, yet not the least kernel will fall on the earth. 10 All the sinners of my people will die by the sword, who say, ‘Evil won’t overtake nor meet us.’ 11 In that day I will raise up the tent of David who is fallen, and close up its breaches, and I will raise up its ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old; 12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom, and all the nations who are called by my name,” says Yahweh who does this.

13 “Behold, the days come,” says Yahweh,
    “that the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
    and the one treading grapes him who sows seed;
    and sweet wine will drip from the mountains,
    and flow from the hills.
14 I will bring my people Israel back from captivity,
    and they will rebuild the ruined cities, and inhabit them;
    and they will plant vineyards, and drink wine from them.
They shall also make gardens,
    and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant them on their land,
    and they will no more be plucked up out of their land which I have given them,”
    says Yahweh your God.

Footnotes

  1. 9:2 Sheol is the place of the dead.

Destruction of the Sanctuary

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

Strike the capitals
    so that the thresholds shake;
break them off onto the heads of all of them.
    Those who remain I will slay with the sword.
Not one of them will get away;
    not one fugitive will survive.
Though they dig down to Sheol,
    from there My hand will capture them;
though they climb up to the heavens,
    from there I will bring them down;
though they hide on the top of Carmel,
    from there I will search and catch them;
though they hide from My sight on the bottom of the sea,
    from there will I command the serpent to bite them;
and though they go into captivity before their enemies,
    from there will I command the sword to slay them.

I will set My eyes upon them
    for evil and not for good.

The Lord God of Hosts,
    He who touches the earth and it melts,
    and all who live on it mourn;
it all rises up like the Nile,
    and subsides like the river of Egypt;
who builds His chambers in the heavens,
    and founds His vault over the earth;
who summons the waters of the sea,
    and pours them out upon the surface of the earth—
    the Lord is His name.

Are you not like the Ethiopians to Me,
    O children of Israel?
    says the Lord.
Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt,
    but also the Philistines from Caphtor,
    and the Arameans from Kir?

The eyes of the Lord God
    are upon the sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it
    from off the face of the earth,
though I will not completely destroy
    the house of Jacob,
    says the Lord.
See, I am giving the command,
    and I will sift the house of Israel
    among all the nations,
as one sifts with a sieve,
    and not a pebble falls to the ground.
10 All the sinners of My people
    will die by the sword,
those who say,
    “Never will disaster reach or overtake us.”

Restoration of the Davidic Kingdom

11 On that day will I raise up
    the hut of David that is fallen;
I will close up its breached walls,
    raise up its ruins,
    and rebuild it as in the days of old;
12 that they may possess the remnant of Edom,
    and of all the nations called by My name,
    says the Lord who will do this.

13 Indeed, the days are coming, says the Lord,

when the plowman will overtake the one who is reaping,
    and the treader of grapes the one who is sowing the seed;
the mountains will drip sweet wine,
    and all the hills 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;
    they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 I will plant them upon their land,
    and no more will they be uprooted
    out of their land which I have given them.
    The Lord your God has spoken.

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