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!”
Amos 4
International Standard Version
Judgment on the Women of Israel
4 “Listen to this message, you fat cows from Bashan,
who live on the Samaritan mountains,
who oppress the poor,
who rob the needy,
and who constantly ask your husbands for one more drink!”
2 The Lord God has taken a sacred oath:[a]
“The day is coming when they[b] will take you away on fishhooks,
every last one of you on fishhooks.
3 Each of you will go out through the breaches of the walls[c]
straight to Mt. Hermon,”[d]
declares the Lord.
The Lord’s Rebuke to Israel
4 “Come to Bethel and sin,
to Gilgal and sin even more!
Bring along your morning sacrifices,
and pay your tithes every other day.[e]
5 While you’re at it,[f] present a thank offering with leaven,
and publicize your freewill offerings,
letting everyone hear about it,
because this is what you really love to do, you Israelis,”
declares the Lord God.
Israel’s Refusal to Return to God
6 “I also have scheduled[g] food shortages[h] for you in all of your cities,
and lack of bread in all of your settlements,
but you haven’t returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
7 “I therefore have withheld the rain from you
three months before the harvest,
causing rain to come upon one city,
but not upon another,
and upon one field
but not upon another,
so that it would wither.
8 So the people of[i] two or three cities staggered away to another[j] city
in order to obtain drinking water,
but you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
9 “I afflicted you with blight and fungus;
and the locust swarm devoured the harvest
of your gardens, your vineyards, your fig trees, and your olive trees,
but you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
10 “I sent plagues among you as I did with Egypt.
I killed your choicest young men with the sword.
I took your horses away from you.
I filled your noses with the stench of your encampments,
but you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
11 “I overthrew your cities,[k]
as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.
You’ve become like a burning ember, snatched from the fire,
but you have not returned to me,”
declares the Lord.
12 “Therefore this is what I will do to you, Israel.
Because I am about to do this,
prepare to be summoned to your God, Israel!”
13 Look! The one who crafts mountains,
who creates the wind,
who reveals what he is thinking to mankind,
who darkens the morning light,
who tramples down the high places of the land—
the Lord, the God of the Heavenly Armies is his name.
Footnotes
- Amos 4:2 Lit. oath on his holiness
- Amos 4:2 Lit. coming upon you, and he; i.e. the invading forces personified as an individual
- Amos 4:3 The Heb. lacks of the walls
- Amos 4:3 Heb. Harmonah
- Amos 4:4 Lit. tithes for the three days
- Amos 4:5 Lit. And
- Amos 4:6 Lit. appointed
- Amos 4:6 Lit. appointed clean teeth
- Amos 4:8 The Heb. lacks the people of
- Amos 4:8 Lit. to a single
- Amos 4:11 The Heb. lacks cities
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
