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Israel Will Not Return

Listen to this message, you cows of Bashan[a] on the Mountain of Samaria.
You take things from the poor
    and crush people who are in need.
Then you command your husbands,
    “Bring us something to drink!”
The Lord God has promised this:
    “Just as surely as I am a holy God,
the time will come
    when you will be taken away by hooks,
    and what is left of you with fishhooks.
You will go straight out of the city
    through holes in the walls,
    and you will be thrown on the garbage dump,” says the Lord.

“Come to the city of Bethel and sin;
    come to Gilgal and sin even more.
Offer your sacrifices every morning,
    and bring one-tenth of your crops every three days.
Offer bread made with yeast as a sacrifice to show your thanks,
    and brag about the special offerings you bring,
    because this is what you love to do, Israelites,” says the Lord God.

“I did not give you any food in your cities,
    and there was not enough to eat in any of your towns,
    but you did not come back to me,” says the Lord.
“I held back the rain from you
    three months before harvest time.
Then I let it rain on one city
    but not on another.
Rain fell on one field,
    but another field got none and dried up.
People weak from thirst went from town to town for water,
    but they could not get enough to drink.
    Still you did not come back to me,” says the Lord.
“I made your crops die from disease and mildew.
    When your gardens and your vineyards got larger,
locusts ate your fig and olive trees.
    But still you did not come back to me,” says the Lord.
10 “I sent disasters against you,
    as I did to Egypt.
I killed your young men with swords,
    and your horses were taken from you.
I made you smell the stink from all the dead bodies,
    but still you did not come back to me,” says the Lord.
11 “I destroyed some of you
    as I destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.
You were like a burning stick pulled from a fire,
    but still you did not come back to me,” says the Lord.

12 “So this is what I will do to you, Israel;
    because I will do this to you,
    get ready to meet your God, Israel.”

13 He is the one who makes the mountains
    and creates the wind
    and makes his thoughts known to people.
He changes the dawn into darkness
    and walks over the mountains of the earth.
    His name is the Lord God All-Powerful.

Footnotes

  1. 4:1 Bashan Amos compares the rich, lazy women of Samaria to well-fed cows from Bashan, a place known for its rich animal pastures.

Chapter 4

Second Summons

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!”
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;
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.

Come to Bethel[c] and sin,
    to Gilgal and sin all the more!
Each morning bring your sacrifices,
    every third day your tithes;
Burn leavened bread as a thanksgiving sacrifice,
    proclaim publicly your voluntary offerings,
For so you love to do, Israelites—
    oracle of the Lord God.

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)
(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;
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.
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

  1. 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.
  2. 4:3 Harmon: or perhaps “Mount Mon”; an unidentified site, probably far to the north of Israel, under the control of Assyria.
  3. 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. 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.