Amos 1:1 - Micah 3:6
English Standard Version
1 The words of Amos, who was among the (A)shepherds[a] of (B)Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel (C)in the days of (D)Uzziah king of Judah and in the days of (E)Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel, two years[b] before (F)the earthquake.
Judgment on Israel's Neighbors
2 And he said:
(G)“The Lord roars from Zion
and utters his voice from Jerusalem;
(H)the pastures of the shepherds mourn,
and the (I)top of (J)Carmel withers.”
3 Thus says the Lord:
(K)“For three transgressions of (L)Damascus,
and for four, (M)I will not revoke the punishment,[c]
because they have threshed (N)Gilead
with threshing sledges of iron.
4 (O)So I will send a fire upon the house of (P)Hazael,
and it shall devour the strongholds of (Q)Ben-hadad.
5 I will (R)break the gate-bar of (S)Damascus,
and cut off the inhabitants from the Valley of (T)Aven,[d]
and him who holds the scepter from (U)Beth-eden;
and the people of (V)Syria shall go into exile to (W)Kir,”
says the Lord.
6 Thus says the Lord:
(X)“For three transgressions of (Y)Gaza,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because (Z)they carried into exile a whole people
to deliver them up to Edom.
7 So I will send a fire upon the wall of (AA)Gaza,
and it shall devour her strongholds.
8 I will cut off the inhabitants from (AB)Ashdod,
and him who holds the scepter from Ashkelon;
I will turn my hand against Ekron,
and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish,”
says the Lord God.
9 Thus says the Lord:
(AC)“For three transgressions of (AD)Tyre,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they delivered up a whole people to Edom,
and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.
10 So I will send a fire upon the wall of (AE)Tyre,
and it shall devour her strongholds.”
11 Thus says the Lord:
(AF)“For three transgressions of (AG)Edom,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
(AH)because he pursued his brother with the sword
(AI)and cast off all pity,
(AJ)and his anger tore perpetually,
(AK)and he kept his wrath forever.
12 So I will send a fire upon (AL)Teman,
and it shall devour the strongholds of (AM)Bozrah.”
13 Thus says the Lord:
(AN)“For three transgressions of the (AO)Ammonites,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because (AP)they have ripped open pregnant women in (AQ)Gilead,
that they might enlarge their border.
14 So I will kindle a fire in the wall of (AR)Rabbah,
(AS)and it shall devour her strongholds,
with shouting on the day of battle,
(AT)with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind;
15 and (AU)their king shall go into exile,
he and his princes[e] together,”
says the Lord.
2 Thus says the Lord:
(AV)“For three transgressions of (AW)Moab,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,[f]
because (AX)he burned to lime
the bones of the king of Edom.
2 So I will send a fire upon Moab,
and it shall devour the strongholds of (AY)Kerioth,
and Moab shall die amid uproar,
amid shouting and the sound of the trumpet;
3 (AZ)I will cut off the ruler from its midst,
and will kill (BA)all its princes[g] with him,”
says the Lord.
Judgment on Judah
4 Thus says the Lord:
(BB)“For three transgressions of Judah,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because (BC)they have rejected the law of the Lord,
and have not kept his statutes,
but (BD)their lies have led them astray,
those after which their fathers walked.
5 So (BE)I will send a fire upon Judah,
and it shall devour the strongholds of Jerusalem.”
Judgment on Israel
6 Thus says the Lord:
(BF)“For three transgressions of Israel,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because (BG)they sell the righteous for (BH)silver,
and the needy for a pair of sandals—
7 those who trample the head of the poor (BI)into the dust of the earth
and (BJ)turn aside the way of the afflicted;
(BK)a man and his father go in to the same girl,
so that my holy name is profaned;
8 they lay themselves down beside every altar
on garments (BL)taken in pledge,
and in the house of their God they drink
the wine of those who have been fined.
9 “Yet (BM)it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them,
(BN)whose height was like the height of the cedars
and who was as strong as the oaks;
(BO)I destroyed his fruit above
and his roots beneath.
10 (BP)Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
(BQ)and led you forty years in the wilderness,
(BR)to possess the land of the Amorite.
11 And I raised up some of your sons for prophets,
and some of your young men for (BS)Nazirites.
Is it not indeed so, O people of Israel?”
declares the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites (BT)drink wine,
and commanded the prophets,
saying, (BU)‘You shall not prophesy.’
13 “Behold, I will press you down in your place,
as a cart full of sheaves presses down.
14 (BV)Flight shall perish from the swift,
(BW)and the strong shall not retain his strength,
(BX)nor shall the mighty save his life;
15 he who handles the bow shall not stand,
and he who is (BY)swift of foot shall not save himself,
(BZ)nor shall he who rides the horse save his life;
16 and he who is stout of heart among the mighty
shall flee away naked in that day,”
declares the Lord.
Israel's Guilt and Punishment
3 (CA)Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:
2 (CB)“You only have I known
of all the families of the earth;
(CC)therefore I will punish you
for all your iniquities.
3 “Do two walk together,
unless they have agreed to meet?
4 Does a lion roar in the forest,
when he has no prey?
Does a young lion cry out from his den,
if he has taken nothing?
5 Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth,
when there is no trap for it?
Does a snare spring up from the ground,
when it has taken nothing?
6 (CD)Is a trumpet blown in a city,
and the people are not afraid?
(CE)Does disaster come to a city,
unless the Lord has done it?
7 “For the Lord God does nothing
(CF)without revealing his secret
to his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared;
who will not fear?
(CG)The Lord God has spoken;
who can but prophesy?”
9 Proclaim to the strongholds in (CH)Ashdod
and to the strongholds in the land of Egypt,
and say, “Assemble yourselves on (CI)the mountains of Samaria,
and see the great tumults within her,
and (CJ)the oppressed in her midst.”
10 “They do not know how to do right,” declares the Lord,
(CK)“those who store up violence and robbery in their strongholds.”
11 Therefore thus says the Lord God:
(CL)“An adversary shall surround the land
and bring down[h] your defenses from you,
and (CM)your strongholds shall be plundered.”
12 Thus says the Lord: (CN)“As the shepherd rescues from the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear, (CO)so shall the people of Israel (CP)who dwell in Samaria be rescued, with the corner of a couch and part[i] of a bed.
13 “Hear, (CQ)and testify against the house of Jacob,”
declares the Lord God, (CR)the God of hosts,
14 “that on the day I punish Israel for his transgressions,
(CS)I will punish the altars of Bethel,
and (CT)the horns of the altar shall be cut off
and fall to the ground.
15 (CU)I will strike (CV)the winter house along with (CW)the summer house,
and (CX)the houses of ivory shall perish,
and the great houses[j] shall come to an end,”
declares the Lord.
4 “Hear this word, (CY)you cows of Bashan,
who are (CZ)on the mountain of Samaria,
(DA)who oppress the poor, (DB)who crush the needy,
who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’
2 (DC)The Lord God has sworn by his holiness
that, behold, the days are coming upon you,
(DD)when they shall take you away with hooks,
(DE)even the last of you with fishhooks.
3 (DF)And you shall go out through the breaches,
each one straight ahead;
and you shall be cast out into Harmon,”
declares the Lord.
4 (DG)“Come to Bethel, and transgress;
to (DH)Gilgal, and multiply transgression;
(DI)bring your (DJ)sacrifices every morning,
your tithes every three days;
5 offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving of (DK)that which is leavened,
and proclaim (DL)freewill offerings, publish them;
(DM)for so you love to do, O people of Israel!”
declares the Lord God.
Israel Has Not Returned to the Lord
6 “I gave you cleanness of teeth in all your cities,
and (DN)lack of bread in all your places,
(DO)yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.
7 “I also (DP)withheld the rain from you
when there were yet three months to the harvest;
(DQ)I would send rain on one city,
and send no rain on another city;
one field would have rain,
and the field on which it did not rain would wither;
8 so two or three cities (DR)would wander to another city
to drink water, and would not be satisfied;
(DS)yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.
9 (DT)“I struck you with blight and mildew;
your many gardens and your vineyards,
your fig trees and your olive trees (DU)the locust devoured;
(DV)yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.
10 “I sent among you a pestilence (DW)after the manner of Egypt;
I killed your young men with the sword,
and (DX)carried away your horses,[k]
and (DY)I made the stench of your camp go up into your nostrils;
(DZ)yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.
11 “I overthrew some of you,
(EA)as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,
and you were (EB)as a brand[l] plucked out of the burning;
(EC)yet you did not return to me,”
declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel;
because I will do this to you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
13 For behold, (ED)he who forms the mountains and creates the wind,
and (EE)declares to man what is his thought,
(EF)who makes the morning darkness,
and (EG)treads on the heights of the earth—
(EH)the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!
Seek the Lord and Live
5 Hear this word that I (EI)take up over you in lamentation, O house of Israel:
2 “Fallen, no more to rise,
is (EJ)the virgin Israel;
forsaken on her land,
with none to raise her up.”
3 For thus says the Lord God:
“The city that went out a thousand
shall have a hundred left,
and that which went out a hundred
shall have ten left
to the house of Israel.”
4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel:
(EK)“Seek me and live;
5 but do not seek (EL)Bethel,
and do not enter into (EM)Gilgal
or cross over to (EN)Beersheba;
for (EO)Gilgal shall surely go into exile,
and (EP)Bethel shall come to nothing.”
6 (EQ)Seek the Lord and live,
(ER)lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph,
and it devour, with none to quench it for (ES)Bethel,
7 O (ET)you who turn justice to wormwood[m]
and cast down righteousness to the earth!
8 He who made the (EU)Pleiades and Orion,
and turns deep darkness into the morning
and (EV)darkens the day into night,
who (EW)calls for the waters of the sea
(EX)and pours them out on the surface of the earth,
(EY)the Lord is his name;
9 (EZ)who makes destruction flash forth against the strong,
so that destruction comes upon the fortress.
10 (FA)They hate him who reproves (FB)in the gate,
and they (FC)abhor him who speaks the truth.
11 Therefore because you (FD)trample on[n] the poor
and you exact taxes of grain from him,
(FE)you have built houses of hewn stone,
but you shall not dwell in them;
(FF)you have planted pleasant vineyards,
but you shall not drink their wine.
12 For I know how many are your transgressions
and how great are your sins—
you who afflict the righteous, who (FG)take a bribe,
and (FH)turn aside the needy (FI)in the gate.
13 Therefore he who is prudent will (FJ)keep silent in such a time,
(FK)for it is an evil time.
14 (FL)Seek good, and not evil,
that you may live;
and so the Lord, (FM)the God of hosts, will be with you,
as you have said.
15 (FN)Hate evil, and love good,
and establish justice (FO)in the gate;
(FP)it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts,
will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.
16 Therefore thus says the Lord, (FQ)the God of hosts, the Lord:
“In all the squares (FR)there shall be wailing,
and in all the streets they shall say, ‘Alas! Alas!’
They shall call the farmers to mourning
and (FS)to wailing those who are skilled in lamentation,
17 and in all vineyards there shall be wailing,
for (FT)I will pass through your midst,”
says the Lord.
Let Justice Roll Down
18 Woe to you who desire (FU)the day of the Lord!
Why would you have the day of the Lord?
(FV)It is darkness, and not light,
19 (FW)as if a man fled from a lion,
and a bear met him,
or went into the house and leaned his hand against the wall,
and a serpent bit him.
20 (FX)Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light,
and gloom with no brightness in it?
21 (FY)“I hate, I despise your feasts,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies.
22 (FZ)Even though you offer me your burnt offerings and grain offerings,
I will not accept them;
and the peace offerings of your fattened animals,
I will not look upon them.
23 Take away from me the noise of your songs;
to (GA)the melody of your harps I will not listen.
24 But let justice roll down like waters,
and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
25 (GB)“Did you bring to me sacrifices and offerings during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel? 26 (GC)You (GD)shall take up Sikkuth your king, and Kiyyun your star-god—your images that you made for yourselves, 27 (GE)and I will send you into exile beyond Damascus,” says the Lord, whose name is (GF)the God of hosts.
Woe to Those at Ease in Zion
6 (GG)“Woe to those who are at ease in Zion,
and to those who feel secure on (GH)the mountain of Samaria,
(GI)the notable men of (GJ)the first of the nations,
to whom the house of Israel comes!
2 Pass over to (GK)Calneh, and see,
and from there go to (GL)Hamath the great;
then go down to (GM)Gath of the Philistines.
(GN)Are you better than these kingdoms?
Or is their territory greater than your territory,
3 (GO)O you who put far away the day of disaster
(GP)and bring near the seat of violence?
4 “Woe to those (GQ)who lie on (GR)beds of ivory
(GS)and stretch themselves out on their couches,
and eat lambs from the flock
(GT)and calves from the midst of the stall,
5 (GU)who sing idle songs to the sound of the harp
and like David (GV)invent for themselves instruments of music,
6 (GW)who drink wine in bowls
and (GX)anoint themselves with the finest oils,
but are not grieved over the ruin of Joseph!
7 (GY)Therefore they shall now be the first of those who go into exile,
and the revelry of those who stretch themselves out shall pass away.”
8 (GZ)The Lord God has sworn by himself, declares the Lord, the God of hosts:
“I abhor (HA)the pride of Jacob
and hate his strongholds,
(HB)and I will deliver up the city and all that is in it.”
9 And (HC)if ten men remain in one house, they shall die. 10 And when one's relative, (HD)the one who anoints him for burial, shall take him up to bring the bones out of the house, and shall say to him who is in the innermost parts of the house, “Is there still anyone with you?” he shall say, “No”; and he shall say, (HE)“Silence! We must not mention the name of the Lord.”
11 For behold, the Lord commands,
and (HF)the great house shall be struck down into fragments,
and the little house into bits.
12 Do horses run on rocks?
Does one plow there[o] with oxen?
(HG)But you have turned justice into (HH)poison
(HI)and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood[p]—
13 you who rejoice in Lo-debar,[q]
who say, (HJ)“Have we not by our own strength
captured Karnaim[r] for ourselves?”
14 “For behold, (HK)I will raise up against you a nation,
O house of Israel,” declares the Lord, the God of hosts;
“and they shall oppress you from (HL)Lebo-hamath
to the Brook of (HM)the Arabah.”
Warning Visions
7 (HN)This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, (HO)he was forming locusts when the latter growth was just beginning to sprout, and behold, it was the latter growth after the king's mowings. 2 When they had finished eating the grass of the land, I said,
“O Lord God, please forgive!
(HP)How can Jacob stand?
He is so small!”
3 (HQ)The Lord relented concerning this:
“It shall not be,” said the Lord.
4 (HR)This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, the Lord God was calling (HS)for a judgment by fire, and it devoured the great deep and was eating up the land. 5 Then I said,
“O Lord God, please cease!
(HT)How can Jacob stand?
He is so small!”
6 (HU)The Lord relented concerning this:
“This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.
7 (HV)This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with (HW)a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 And the Lord said to me, (HX)“Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,
“Behold, I am setting (HY)a plumb line
in the midst of my people Israel;
(HZ)I will never again pass by them;
9 (IA)the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,
and I will rise against (IB)the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Amos Accused
10 Then Amaziah (IC)the priest of Bethel sent to (ID)Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has (IE)conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. 11 For thus Amos has said,
“‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and (IF)Israel must go into exile
away from his land.’”
12 And Amaziah said to Amos, (IG)“O seer, go, flee away (IH)to the land of Judah, and (II)eat bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but (IJ)never again prophesy at Bethel, for (IK)it is the king's sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”
14 Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, (IL)“I was[s] no prophet, nor a prophet's son, but (IM)I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. 15 (IN)But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 (IO)Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.
“You say, (IP)‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
and (IQ)do not preach against the house of (IR)Isaac.’
17 (IS)Therefore thus says the Lord:
“‘Your wife shall be a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
and your land (IT)shall be divided up with a measuring line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
and (IU)Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.’”
The Coming Day of Bitter Mourning
8 (IV)This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, (IW)“Amos, what do you see?” And I said, (IX)“A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me,
(IY)“The end[t] has come upon my people Israel;
I will never again pass by them.
3 (IZ)The songs of the temple[u] (JA)shall become wailings[v] in that day,”
declares the Lord God.
(JB)“So many dead bodies!”
“They are thrown everywhere!”
(JC)“Silence!”
4 Hear this, (JD)you who trample on the needy
and bring the poor of the land to an end,
5 saying, “When will (JE)the new moon be over,
that we may sell grain?
And (JF)the Sabbath,
that we may offer wheat for sale,
that we may make (JG)the ephah small and the shekel[w] great
and deal deceitfully with false balances,
6 that we may buy the poor for (JH)silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals
and sell the chaff of the wheat?”
7 The Lord has sworn by (JI)the pride of Jacob:
“Surely (JJ)I will never forget any of their deeds.
8 (JK)Shall not the land tremble on this account,
and everyone mourn who dwells in it,
(JL)and all of it rise like the Nile,
and be tossed about (JM)and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?”
9 “And on that day,” declares the Lord God,
(JN)“I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10 (JO)I will turn your feasts into mourning
and all your songs into lamentation;
(JP)I will bring sackcloth on every waist
(JQ)and baldness on every head;
(JR)I will make it like the mourning for an only son
and the end of it like a bitter day.
11 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“when (JS)I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
(JT)but of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 (JU)They shall wander from sea to sea,
and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord,
(JV)but they shall not find it.
13 (JW)“In that day the lovely virgins and the young men
shall (JX)faint for thirst.
14 Those who swear by (JY)the Guilt of Samaria,
and say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan,’
and, ‘As (JZ)the Way of (KA)Beersheba lives,’
they shall fall, and never rise again.”
The Destruction of Israel
9 I saw the Lord standing beside[x] the altar, and he said:
(KB)“Strike the capitals until (KC)the thresholds (KD)shake,
(KE)and shatter them on the heads of all the people;[y]
and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword;
(KF)not one of them shall flee away;
not one of them shall escape.
2 (KG)“If they dig into Sheol,
from there shall my hand take them;
(KH)if they climb up to heaven,
from there I will bring them down.
3 If they hide themselves on (KI)the top of Carmel,
from there I will search them out and take them;
(KJ)and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
4 (KK)And if they go into captivity before their enemies,
there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them;
(KL)and I will fix my eyes upon them
for evil and not for good.”
5 The Lord God of hosts,
he who touches the earth and (KM)it melts,
and all who dwell in it mourn,
(KN)and all of it rises like the Nile,
(KO)and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt;
6 (KP)who builds his upper chambers in the heavens
and founds his vault upon the earth;
(KQ)who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out upon the surface of the earth—
(KR)the Lord is his name.
7 “Are you not like (KS)the Cushites to me,
O people of Israel?” declares the Lord.
(KT)“Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,
and (KU)the Philistines from (KV)Caphtor and the Syrians from (KW)Kir?
8 Behold, (KX)the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground,
(KY)except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.
9 “For behold, I will command,
(KZ)and shake the house of Israel among all the nations
as one shakes with a sieve,
but no pebble shall fall to the earth.
10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,
who say, (LA)‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’
The Restoration of Israel
11 “In that day (LB)I will raise up
the booth of David that is fallen
and repair its breaches,
and raise up its ruins
and rebuild it as in the days of old,
12 (LC)that they may possess the remnant of Edom
and (LD)all the nations who are called by my name,”[z]
declares the Lord who does this.
13 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord,
(LE)“when the plowman shall overtake the reaper
and the treader of grapes him who sows the seed;
(LF)the mountains shall drip sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.
14 (LG)I will restore the fortunes of my people Israel,
and (LH)they shall rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
(LI)they shall plant vineyards and drink their wine,
and they shall make gardens and eat their fruit.
15 (LJ)I will plant them on their land,
(LK)and they shall never again be uprooted
out of the land (LL)that I have given them,”
says the Lord your God.
1 The vision of Obadiah.
Edom Will Be Humbled
Thus says the Lord God (LM)concerning Edom:
(LN)We have heard a report from the Lord,
and a messenger has been sent among the nations:
“Rise up! Let us rise against her for battle!”
2 Behold, I will make you small among the nations;
you shall be utterly despised.[aa]
3 (LO)The pride of your heart has deceived you,
you who live in the clefts of the rock,[ab]
in your lofty dwelling,
(LP)who say in your heart,
“Who will bring me down to the ground?”
4 Though you soar aloft like the eagle,
though your nest is set among the stars,
from there I will bring you down,
declares the Lord.
5 If (LQ)thieves came to you,
if plunderers came by night—
how you have been destroyed!—
would they not steal only enough for themselves?
If (LR)grape gatherers came to you,
would they not leave gleanings?
6 (LS)How Esau has been pillaged,
his treasures sought out!
7 All your allies have driven you to your border;
those at peace with you have deceived you;
they have prevailed against you;
(LT)those who eat your bread[ac] have set a trap beneath you—
(LU)you have[ad] no understanding.
8 (LV)Will I not on that day, declares the Lord,
destroy the wise men out of Edom,
and understanding out of (LW)Mount Esau?
9 And your mighty men shall be dismayed, (LX)O Teman,
so that every man from (LY)Mount Esau will be cut off by slaughter.
Edom's Violence Against Jacob
10 (LZ)Because of the violence done to your brother Jacob,
shame shall cover you,
(MA)and you shall be cut off forever.
11 (MB)On the day that you stood aloof,
(MC)on the day that strangers carried off his wealth
and foreigners entered his gates
(MD)and cast lots for Jerusalem,
you were like one of them.
12 (ME)But do not gloat over the day of your brother
in the day of his misfortune;
(MF)do not rejoice over the people of Judah
in the day of their ruin;
(MG)do not boast[ae]
in the day of distress.
13 (MH)Do not enter the gate of my people
in the day of their calamity;
(MI)do not gloat over his disaster
in the day of his calamity;
(MJ)do not loot his wealth
in the day of his calamity.
14 (MK)Do not stand at the crossroads
to cut off his fugitives;
do not hand over his survivors
in the day of distress.
The Day of the Lord Is Near
15 For (ML)the day of the Lord is near upon all the nations.
(MM)As you have done, it shall be done to you;
your deeds shall return on your own head.
16 (MN)For as you have drunk on (MO)my holy mountain,
so all the nations shall drink continually;
they shall drink and swallow,
and shall be as though they had never been.
17 (MP)But in Mount Zion there shall be those who escape,
and it shall be holy,
(MQ)and the house of Jacob shall possess their own possessions.
18 (MR)The house of Jacob shall be a fire,
and the house of Joseph a flame,
and the house of Esau (MS)stubble;
they shall burn them and consume them,
(MT)and there shall be no survivor for the house of Esau,
for the Lord has spoken.
The Kingdom of the Lord
19 Those of (MU)the Negeb (MV)shall possess (MW)Mount Esau,
and those of the Shephelah shall possess (MX)the land of the Philistines;
they shall possess the land of Ephraim and the land of (MY)Samaria,
and Benjamin shall possess Gilead.
20 The exiles of this host of the people of Israel
shall possess the land of the Canaanites as far as (MZ)Zarephath,
and the exiles of Jerusalem who are in Sepharad
shall possess the cities of the Negeb.
21 (NA)Saviors shall go up to Mount Zion
to rule (NB)Mount Esau,
and (NC)the kingdom shall be the Lord's.
Jonah Flees the Presence of the Lord
1 Now the word of the Lord came to (ND)Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, 2 “Arise, go to (NE)Nineveh, that (NF)great city, and call out against it, (NG)for their evil[af] has come up before me.” 3 But Jonah (NH)rose to flee to (NI)Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. He went down to (NJ)Joppa and found a ship going to (NK)Tarshish. So he paid the fare and went down into it, to go with them to (NL)Tarshish, (NM)away from the presence of the Lord.
4 But (NN)the Lord hurled a great wind upon the sea, and there was a mighty tempest on the sea, so that the ship threatened (NO)to break up. 5 Then the mariners were afraid, and (NP)each cried out to his god. And (NQ)they hurled the cargo that was in the ship into the sea to lighten it for them. But Jonah had gone down into the inner part of the ship and had lain down and was fast asleep. 6 So the captain came and said to him, “What do you mean, you sleeper? Arise, (NR)call out to your god! (NS)Perhaps the god will give a thought to us, that we may not perish.”
Jonah Is Thrown into the Sea
7 And they said to one another, “Come, let us (NT)cast lots, that we may know on whose account this evil has come upon us.” So they cast lots, and the lot fell on Jonah. 8 Then they said to him, “Tell us on whose account this evil has come upon us. What is your occupation? And where do you come from? What is your country? And of what people are you?” 9 And he said to them, “I am a Hebrew, and I fear (NU)the Lord, the God of heaven, (NV)who made the sea and the dry land.” 10 Then the men were exceedingly afraid and said to him, “What is this that you have done!” For the men knew that (NW)he was fleeing from the presence of the Lord, because he had told them.
11 Then they said to him, “What shall we do to you, that the sea may quiet down for us?” For the sea grew more and more tempestuous. 12 He said to them, “Pick me up and hurl me into the sea; then the sea will quiet down for you, (NX)for I know it is because of me that this great tempest has come upon you.” 13 Nevertheless, the men rowed hard[ag] to get back to dry land, but they could not, for the sea grew more and more tempestuous against them. 14 Therefore they called out to the Lord, “O Lord, let us not perish for this man's life, and (NY)lay not on us innocent blood, (NZ)for you, O Lord, have done as it pleased you.” 15 So they picked up Jonah and hurled him into the sea, (OA)and the sea ceased from its raging. 16 Then the men feared the Lord exceedingly, (OB)and they offered a sacrifice to the Lord (OC)and made vows.
A Great Fish Swallows Jonah
17 [ah] And the Lord appointed[ai] a great fish to swallow up Jonah. (OD)And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.
Jonah's Prayer
2 Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,
(OE)“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
and he answered me;
(OF)out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
(OG)and you heard my voice.
3 (OH)For you cast me into the deep,
into the heart of the seas,
and the flood surrounded me;
(OI)all your waves and your billows
passed over me.
4 (OJ)Then I said, ‘I am driven away
from your sight;
(OK)yet I shall again look
upon your holy temple.’
5 (OL)The waters closed in over me (OM)to take my life;
the deep surrounded me;
weeds were wrapped about my head
6 at the roots of the mountains.
I went down to the land
whose bars closed upon me forever;
yet you brought up my life from the pit,
O Lord my God.
7 When my life was fainting away,
I remembered the Lord,
(ON)and my prayer came to you,
into your holy temple.
8 (OO)Those who pay regard to vain idols
(OP)forsake their hope of steadfast love.
9 (OQ)But I with the voice of thanksgiving
will sacrifice to you;
what I have vowed I will pay.
(OR)Salvation belongs to the Lord!”
10 And the Lord spoke to the fish, and it vomited Jonah out upon the dry land.
Jonah Goes to Nineveh
3 Then the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, 2 “Arise, go to (OS)Nineveh, that great city, and call out against it the message that I tell you.” 3 So Jonah arose and went to Nineveh, according to the word of the Lord. Now (OT)Nineveh was an exceedingly great city,[aj] three days' journey in breadth.[ak] 4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day's journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!” 5 (OU)And the people of Nineveh believed God. (OV)They called for a fast and (OW)put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them.
The People of Nineveh Repent
6 The word reached[al] the king of Nineveh, and (OX)he arose from his throne, removed his robe, covered himself with sackcloth, (OY)and sat in ashes. 7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, (OZ)“By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor (PA)beast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and (PB)beast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. (PC)Let everyone turn from his evil way and from (PD)the violence that is in his hands. 9 (PE)Who knows? God may turn and relent (PF)and turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”
10 When God saw what they did, (PG)how they turned from their evil way, (PH)God relented of the disaster that he had said he would do to them, and he did not do it.
Jonah's Anger and the Lord's Compassion
4 But it displeased Jonah exceedingly,[am] and (PI)he was angry. 2 And he prayed to the Lord and said, “O Lord, is not this what I said when I was yet in my country? (PJ)That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish; for I knew that you are a (PK)gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, and (PL)relenting from disaster. 3 (PM)Therefore now, O Lord, please take my life from me, (PN)for it is better for me to die than to live.” 4 And the Lord said, (PO)“Do you do well to be angry?”
5 Jonah went out of the city and sat to the east of the city and (PP)made a booth for himself there. He sat under it in the shade, till he should see what would become of the city. 6 Now the Lord God appointed a plant[an] and made it come up over Jonah, that it might be a shade over his head, to save him from his discomfort.[ao] So Jonah was exceedingly glad because of the plant. 7 But when dawn came up the next day, God appointed a worm that attacked the plant, so that it withered. 8 When the sun rose, God appointed a scorching (PQ)east wind, (PR)and the sun beat down on the head of Jonah so that he (PS)was faint. And he asked that he might die and said, (PT)“It is better for me to die than to live.” 9 But God said to Jonah, (PU)“Do you do well to be angry for the plant?” And he said, “Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.” 10 And the Lord said, “You pity the plant, for which you did not labor, nor did you make it grow, which came into being in a night and perished in a night. 11 And should not I pity (PV)Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than 120,000 persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also much (PW)cattle?”
1 The word of the Lord that came to Micah (PX)of Moresheth (PY)in the days of Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw (PZ)concerning (QA)Samaria and Jerusalem.
The Coming Destruction
2 (QB)Hear, you peoples, all of you;[ap]
(QC)pay attention, O earth, and all that is in it,
and (QD)let the Lord God be a witness against you,
(QE)the Lord from his holy temple.
3 For behold, (QF)the Lord is coming out of (QG)his place,
and will come down and (QH)tread upon the high places of the earth.
4 And (QI)the mountains will melt under him,
and the valleys will split open,
like wax before the fire,
like waters poured down a steep place.
5 All this is for (QJ)the transgression of Jacob
and for the sins of the house of Israel.
(QK)What is the transgression of Jacob?
Is it not (QL)Samaria?
And what is (QM)the high place of Judah?
Is it not Jerusalem?
6 Therefore I will make (QN)Samaria (QO)a heap in the open country,
a place for planting vineyards,
and I will pour down her stones (QP)into the valley
and (QQ)uncover her foundations.
7 All (QR)her carved images shall be beaten to pieces,
(QS)all her wages shall be burned with fire,
and all her idols I will lay waste,
for from (QT)the fee of a prostitute she gathered them,
and to the fee of a prostitute they shall return.
8 (QU)For this I will lament and wail;
I will go (QV)stripped and naked;
I will make lamentation (QW)like the jackals,
and mourning (QX)like the ostriches.
9 (QY)For her wound is incurable,
and it has come to Judah;
it has reached to the gate of my people,
to Jerusalem.
10 (QZ)Tell it not in (RA)Gath;
weep not at all;
in Beth-le-aphrah
(RB)roll yourselves in the dust.
11 Pass on your way,
inhabitants of Shaphir,
(RC)in nakedness and shame;
the inhabitants of Zaanan
do not come out;
the lamentation of Beth-ezel
shall take away from you its standing place.
12 For the inhabitants of Maroth
wait anxiously for good,
because disaster has come down (RD)from the Lord
to the gate of Jerusalem.
13 Harness the steeds to the chariots,
inhabitants of (RE)Lachish;
it was the beginning of sin
to the daughter of Zion,
for in you were found
(RF)the transgressions of Israel.
14 Therefore you shall give parting gifts[aq]
to (RG)Moresheth-gath;
the houses of (RH)Achzib shall be a deceitful thing
to the kings of Israel.
15 I will again bring (RI)a conqueror to you,
inhabitants of (RJ)Mareshah;
the glory of Israel
shall come to (RK)Adullam.
16 (RL)Make yourselves bald and cut off your hair,
for the children of your delight;
(RM)make yourselves as bald as the eagle,
for they shall go from you into exile.
Woe to the Oppressors
2 (RN)Woe to those who devise wickedness
and work evil (RO)on their beds!
When the morning dawns, they perform it,
because it is in the power of their hand.
2 They covet fields and (RP)seize them,
and houses, and take them away;
they oppress a man and his house,
a man and his inheritance.
3 Therefore thus says the Lord:
behold, against (RQ)this family I am devising disaster,[ar]
from which you cannot remove your necks,
and you (RR)shall not walk haughtily,
(RS)for it will be a time of disaster.
4 In that day (RT)they shall take up a taunt song against you
and moan bitterly,
and say, “We are utterly ruined;
(RU)he changes the portion of my people;
(RV)how he removes it from me!
(RW)To an apostate he allots our fields.”
5 Therefore you will have none (RX)to cast the line by lot
in the assembly of the Lord.
6 (RY)“Do not preach”—thus they preach—
(RZ)“one should not preach of such things;
(SA)disgrace will not overtake us.”
7 Should this be said, O house of Jacob?
(SB)Has the Lord grown impatient?[as]
Are these his deeds?
Do not my words do good
to him who walks uprightly?
8 But lately (SC)my people have risen up as an enemy;
you strip the rich robe from those who pass by trustingly
with no thought of war.[at]
9 The women of my people you drive out
from their delightful houses;
from their young children you take away
my splendor forever.
10 (SD)Arise and go,
for this is no (SE)place to rest,
because of (SF)uncleanness that destroys
with a grievous destruction.
11 If a man should go about and (SG)utter wind and lies,
saying, “I will preach to you (SH)of wine and strong drink,”
he would be the preacher for this people!
12 I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob;
(SI)I will gather (SJ)the remnant of Israel;
I will set them together
like sheep in a fold,
(SK)like a flock in its pasture,
a noisy multitude of men.
13 (SL)He who opens the breach goes up before them;
they break through and pass the gate,
(SM)going out by it.
Their king passes on before them,
(SN)the Lord at their head.
Rulers and Prophets Denounced
3 And I said:
(SO)Hear, you heads of Jacob
and rulers of the house of Israel!
(SP)Is it not for you to know justice?—
2 you (SQ)who hate the good and love the evil,
(SR)who tear the skin from off my people[au]
and their flesh from off their bones,
3 (SS)who eat the flesh of my people,
and flay their skin from off them,
and break their bones in pieces
and chop them up like meat in a pot,
like flesh in a cauldron.
4 (ST)Then they will cry to the Lord,
but he will not answer them;
(SU)he will hide his face from them at that time,
because they have made their deeds evil.
5 Thus says the Lord concerning (SV)the prophets
who lead my people astray,
(SW)who cry “Peace”
when they have something to eat,
but declare war against him
who puts nothing into their mouths.
6 Therefore (SX)it shall be night to you, without vision,
and darkness to you, without divination.
(SY)The sun shall go down on the prophets,
and the day shall be black over them;
Footnotes
- Amos 1:1 Or sheep breeders
- Amos 1:1 Or during two years
- Amos 1:3 Hebrew I will not turn it back; also verses 6, 9, 11, 13
- Amos 1:5 Or On
- Amos 1:15 Or officials
- Amos 2:1 Hebrew I will not turn it back; also verses 4, 6
- Amos 2:3 Or officials
- Amos 3:11 Hebrew An adversary, one who surrounds the land—he shall bring down
- Amos 3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew word is uncertain
- Amos 3:15 Or and many houses
- Amos 4:10 Hebrew along with the captivity of your horses
- Amos 4:11 That is, a burning stick
- Amos 5:7 Or to bitter fruit
- Amos 5:11 Or you tax
- Amos 6:12 Or the sea
- Amos 6:12 Or into bitter fruit
- Amos 6:13 Lo-debar means nothing
- Amos 6:13 Karnaim means horns (a symbol of strength)
- Amos 7:14 Or am; twice in this verse
- Amos 8:2 The Hebrew words for end and summer fruit sound alike
- Amos 8:3 Or palace
- Amos 8:3 Or The singing women of the palace shall wail
- Amos 8:5 An ephah was about 3/5 bushel or 22 liters; a shekel was about 2/5 ounce or 11 grams
- Amos 9:1 Or on
- Amos 9:1 Hebrew all of them
- Amos 9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint (compare Acts 15:17) that the remnant of mankind and all the nations who are called by my name may seek the Lord
- Obadiah 1:2 Or Behold, I have made you small among the nations; you are utterly despised
- Obadiah 1:3 Or of Sela
- Obadiah 1:7 Hebrew lacks those who eat
- Obadiah 1:7 Hebrew he has
- Obadiah 1:12 Hebrew do not enlarge your mouth
- Jonah 1:2 The same Hebrew word can mean evil or disaster, depending on the context; so throughout Jonah
- Jonah 1:13 Hebrew the men dug in [their oars]
- Jonah 1:17 Ch 2:1 in Hebrew
- Jonah 1:17 Or had appointed
- Jonah 3:3 Hebrew a great city to God
- Jonah 3:3 Or a visit was a three days' journey
- Jonah 3:6 Or had reached
- Jonah 4:1 Hebrew it was exceedingly evil to Jonah
- Jonah 4:6 Hebrew qiqayon, probably the castor oil plant; also verses 7, 9, 10
- Jonah 4:6 Or his evil
- Micah 1:2 Hebrew all of them
- Micah 1:14 Or give dowry
- Micah 2:3 The same Hebrew word can mean evil or disaster, depending on the context
- Micah 2:7 Hebrew Has the spirit of the Lord grown short?
- Micah 2:8 Or returning from war
- Micah 3:2 Hebrew from off them
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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