Font Size
Amos 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Amos 4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 4
Second Summons
1 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan,[a]
who live on the mount of Samaria:
Who oppress the destitute
and abuse the needy;
Who say to your husbands,
“Bring us a drink!”
2 The Lord God has sworn by his holiness:
Truly days are coming upon you
when they shall drag you away with ropes,
your children with fishhooks;
3 You shall go out through the breached walls
one in front of the other,
And you shall be exiled to Harmon—[b]
oracle of the Lord.
4 Come to Bethel[c] and sin,
to Gilgal and sin all the more!
Each morning bring your sacrifices,
every third day your tithes;
5 Burn leavened bread as a thanksgiving sacrifice,
proclaim publicly your voluntary offerings,
For so you love to do, Israelites—
oracle of the Lord God.
6 Though I made your teeth
clean of food in all your cities,
and made bread scarce in all your dwellings,
Yet you did not return to me—
oracle of the Lord.(A)
7 (B)And I withheld the rain from you
when the harvest was still three months away;
I sent rain upon one city
but not upon another;
One field was watered by rain,
but the one I did not water dried up;
8 Two or three cities staggered to another to drink water
but were not satisfied;
Yet you did not return to me—
oracle of the Lord.
9 I struck you with blight and mildew;
locusts devoured your gardens and vineyards,
the caterpillar consumed your fig trees and olive trees;
Yet you did not return to me—
oracle of the Lord.(C)
10 I sent upon you pestilence like that of Egypt;(D)
with the sword I killed your young men and your captured horses,
and to your nostrils I brought the stench of your camps;
Yet you did not return to me—
oracle of the Lord.
11 I overthrew you
as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah;
you were like a brand plucked from the fire,(E)
Yet you did not return to me—
oracle of the Lord.
12 Therefore thus I will do to you,[d] Israel:
and since I will deal thus with you,
prepare to meet your God, O Israel!
13 The one who forms mountains and creates winds,
and declares to mortals their thoughts;
Who makes dawn into darkness
and strides upon the heights of the earth,
the Lord, the God of hosts, is his name!
Footnotes
- 4:1 Cows of Bashan: the pampered women of Samaria; Bashan was a region east of the Sea of Galilee, famous for its rich pasture and fattened herds.
- 4:3 Harmon: or perhaps “Mount Mon”; an unidentified site, probably far to the north of Israel, under the control of Assyria.
- 4:4 Come to Bethel: Amos’s invitation to the people to come and “sin” at two of the major religious centers in Samaria is sarcastic. His point is that sacrifice and worship without justice is an abomination to the God of Israel; cf. 5:21–24.
- 4:12 Therefore thus I will do to you: this climax of vv. 6–12, announcing the sentence the Lord intends to pass on Israel, is open-ended.
Amos 4
Living Bible
Amos 4
Living Bible
4 Listen to me, you “fat cows” of Bashan living in Samaria—you women who encourage your husbands to rob the poor and crush the needy—you who never have enough to drink! 2 The Lord God has sworn by his holiness that the time will come when he will put hooks in your noses and lead you away like the cattle you are; they will drag the last of you away with fishhooks! 3 You will be hauled from your beautiful homes and tossed out through the nearest breach in the wall. The Lord has said it.
4 Go ahead and sacrifice to idols at Bethel and Gilgal. Keep disobeying—your sins are mounting up. Sacrifice each morning and bring your tithes twice a week! 5 Go through all your proper forms and give extra offerings. How you pride yourselves and crow about it everywhere!
6 “I sent you hunger,” says the Lord, “but it did no good; you still would not return to me. 7 I ruined your crops by holding back the rain three months before the harvest. I sent rain on one city but not another. While rain fell on one field, another was dry and withered. 8 People from two or three cities would make their weary journey for a drink of water to a city that had rain, but there wasn’t ever enough. Yet you wouldn’t return to me,” says the Lord.
9 “I sent blight and mildew on your farms and your vineyards; the locusts ate your figs and olive trees. And still you wouldn’t return to me,” says the Lord. 10 “I sent you plagues like those of Egypt long ago. I killed your lads in war and drove away your horses. The stench of death was terrible to smell. And yet you refused to come. 11 I destroyed some of your cities, as I did Sodom and Gomorrah; those left are like half-burned firebrands snatched away from fire. And still you won’t return to me,” says the Lord.
12 “Therefore, I will bring upon you all these further evils I have spoken of. Prepare to meet your God in judgment, Israel. 13 For you are dealing with the One who formed the mountains, made the winds, and knows your every thought; he turns the morning to darkness and crushes down the mountains underneath his feet: Jehovah, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, is his name.”
Amos 4
New International Version
Amos 4
New International Version
Israel Has Not Returned to God
4 Hear this word, you cows of Bashan(A) on Mount Samaria,(B)
you women who oppress the poor(C) and crush the needy(D)
and say to your husbands,(E) “Bring us some drinks!(F)”
2 The Sovereign Lord has sworn by his holiness:
“The time(G) will surely come
when you will be taken away(H) with hooks,(I)
the last of you with fishhooks.[a]
3 You will each go straight out
through breaches in the wall,(J)
and you will be cast out toward Harmon,[b]”
declares the Lord.
4 “Go to Bethel(K) and sin;
go to Gilgal(L) and sin yet more.
Bring your sacrifices every morning,(M)
your tithes(N) every three years.[c](O)
5 Burn leavened bread(P) as a thank offering
and brag about your freewill offerings(Q)—
boast about them, you Israelites,
for this is what you love to do,”
declares the Sovereign Lord.
6 “I gave you empty stomachs in every city
and lack of bread in every town,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.(R)
7 “I also withheld(S) rain from you
when the harvest was still three months away.
I sent rain on one town,
but withheld it from another.(T)
One field had rain;
another had none and dried up.
8 People staggered from town to town for water(U)
but did not get enough(V) to drink,
yet you have not returned(W) to me,”
declares the Lord.(X)
9 “Many times I struck your gardens and vineyards,
destroying them with blight and mildew.(Y)
Locusts(Z) devoured your fig and olive trees,(AA)
yet you have not returned(AB) to me,”
declares the Lord.
10 “I sent plagues(AC) among you
as I did to Egypt.(AD)
I killed your young men(AE) with the sword,
along with your captured horses.
I filled your nostrils with the stench(AF) of your camps,
yet you have not returned to me,”(AG)
declares the Lord.(AH)
11 “I overthrew some of you
as I overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.(AI)
You were like a burning stick(AJ) snatched from the fire,
yet you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.(AK)
12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel,
and because I will do this to you, Israel,
prepare to meet your God.”
Amos 4
New King James Version
Amos 4
New King James Version
God’s Punishments Have Not Reformed Israel
4 Hear this word, you (A)cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria,
Who oppress the (B)poor,
Who crush the needy,
Who say to [a]your husbands, “Bring wine, let us (C)drink!”
2 (D)The Lord God has sworn by His holiness:
“Behold, the days shall come upon you
When He will take you away (E)with fishhooks,
And your posterity with fishhooks.
3 (F)You will go out through broken walls,
Each one straight ahead of her,
And you will [b]be cast into Harmon,”
Says the Lord.
4 “Come(G) to Bethel and transgress,
At (H)Gilgal multiply transgression;
(I)Bring your sacrifices every morning,
(J)Your tithes every three [c]days.
5 (K)Offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving with leaven,
Proclaim and announce (L)the freewill offerings;
For this you love,
You children of Israel!”
Says the Lord God.
Israel Did Not Accept Correction
6 “Also I gave you [d]cleanness of teeth in all your cities,
And lack of bread in all your places;
(M)Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.
7 “I also withheld rain from you,
When there were still three months to the harvest.
I made it rain on one city,
I withheld rain from another city.
One part was rained upon,
And where it did not rain the part withered.
8 So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water,
But they were not satisfied;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.
9 “I(N) blasted you with blight and mildew.
When your gardens increased,
Your vineyards,
Your fig trees,
And your olive trees,
(O)The locust devoured them;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.
10 “I sent among you a plague (P)after the manner of Egypt;
Your young men I killed with a sword,
Along with your captive horses;
I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.
11 “I overthrew some of you,
As God overthrew (Q)Sodom and Gomorrah,
And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning;
Yet you have not returned to Me,”
Says the Lord.
12 “Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel;
Because I will do this to you,
(R)Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Living Bible (TLB)
The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New King James Version (NKJV) 
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.