Amos 7
Christian Standard Bible
First Vision: Locusts
7 The Lord God showed me this: He was forming a swarm of locusts(A) at the time the spring crop first began to sprout—after the cutting of the king’s hay. 2 When the locusts finished eating the vegetation of the land,(B) I said, “Lord God, please forgive!(C) How will Jacob survive since he is so small?” (D)
3 The Lord relented concerning this.(E) “It will not happen,” he said.
Second Vision: Fire
4 The Lord God showed me this: The Lord God was calling for a judgment by fire.(F) It consumed the great deep and devoured the land. 5 Then I said, “Lord God, please stop!(G) How will Jacob survive since he is so small?”
6 The Lord relented concerning this.(H) “This will not happen either,” said the Lord God.
Third Vision: A Plumb Line
7 He showed me this: The Lord was standing there by a vertical wall with a plumb line in his hand. 8 The Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” (I)
I replied, “A plumb line.”
Then the Lord said, “I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel;(J) I will no longer spare them:(K)
9 Isaac’s high places(L) will be deserted,
and Israel’s sanctuaries will be in ruins;(M)
I will rise up against the house of Jeroboam
with a sword.”
Amaziah’s Opposition
10 Amaziah the priest(N) of Bethel sent word to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you(O) right here in the house of Israel. The land cannot endure all his words, 11 for Amos has said this: ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile from its homeland.’”(P)
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go away, you seer!(Q) Flee to the land of Judah. Earn your living[a] and give your prophecies there, 13 but don’t ever prophesy(R) at Bethel again, for it is the king’s sanctuary(S) and a royal temple.”
14 So Amos answered Amaziah, “I was[b] not a prophet or the son of a prophet;[c](T) rather, I was[d] a herdsman,(U) and I took care of sycamore figs. 15 But the Lord took me from following the flock(V) and said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’”(W)
16 Now hear the word of the Lord. You say:
17 Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
Amos 7
New Catholic Bible
Visions: Amos, Confidant of God
Chapter 7
The Vision of Locusts. 1 This is what the Lord God showed me: he was forming a swarm of locusts after the king’s share[a] had been harvested and the second growth was beginning to sprout. 2 When the locusts had finished eating all the grass in the land, I said:
Lord God, forgive, I beg you.
Jacob is so small;
how can he survive?
3 Thereupon the Lord relented. “This shall not happen,” said the Lord God.
The Vision of Fire. 4 This is what the Lord God then showed me: the Lord God was summoning a fire of judgment to devour the great abyss and to consume the land. 5 I said:
Lord God, cease, I beg you.
Jacob is so small;
how can he survive?
6 Thereupon the Lord relented. “This also shall not happen,” said the Lord God.
The Vision of the Plumb Line. 7 Then the Lord showed me this: he was standing by a wall, with a plumb line in his hand. 8 The Lord asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” I replied, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said:
Behold, I am setting a plumb line
in the midst of my people Israel;
never again will I forgive their offenses.
9 The high places of Isaac shall be laid waste,
and the sanctuaries of Israel will be left desolate;
with sword in hand
I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.
10 Amos Expelled by the Priests of Bethel. Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent the following message to Jeroboam, the king of Israel: “Amos has conspired against you here in the heart of the house of Israel, and the country cannot tolerate his message. 11 For this is what Amos is saying:
“ ‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and the Israelites will be taken into captivity,
far away from their native land.’ ”
12 To Amos himself Amaziah said, “Go, O seer, and flee to the land of Judah. There you can prophesy and earn your living. 13 But never again prophesy at Bethel, for this is the king’s sanctuary and a royal shrine.”
14 Amos replied to Amaziah, “I am not a prophet, nor a prophet’s son. I was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamore-fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me away from tending the flock and said to me, ‘Go forth and prophesy to my people Israel.’ 16 So now, listen to the word of the Lord. You tell me that I am not to prophesy against Israel or to preach against the house of Isaac. 17 Therefore, thus says the Lord:
“ ‘Your wife will become a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.
Your land will be parceled out by a measuring line;
you yourself will die in a pagan country,
and Israel will be deported in captivity
far from its native land.’ ”
Footnotes
- Amos 7:1 The king’s share: part of the first mowing was reserved for the king as a kind of tax.
The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.
