Amos 7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
V. Symbolic Visions
Chapter 7
First Vision: The Locust Swarm
1 This is what the Lord God showed me: He was forming a locust swarm when the late growth began to come up (the late growth after the king’s mowing[a]). 2 When they had finished eating the grass in the land, I said:
Forgive, O Lord God!
Who will raise up Jacob?
He is so small!
3 The Lord relented concerning this. “This shall not be,” said the Lord God.
Second Vision: The Rain of Fire
4 This is what the Lord God showed me: He was summoning a rain of fire. It had devoured the great abyss and was consuming the fields. 5 Then I said:
Cease, O Lord God!
Who will raise up Jacob?
He is so small!
6 The Lord relented concerning this. “This also shall not be,” said the Lord God.
Third Vision: The Plummet
7 (A)This is what the Lord God showed me: He was standing, plummet in hand, by a wall built with a plummet.[b] 8 The Lord God asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” And I answered, “A plummet.” Then the Lord said:
See, I am laying the plummet
in the midst of my people Israel;
I will forgive them no longer.
9 The high places of Isaac shall be laid waste,
and the sanctuaries of Israel made desolate;
and I will attack the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
Biographical Interlude: Amos and Amaziah
10 Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent word to Jeroboam, king of Israel: “Amos has conspired against you within the house of Israel; the country cannot endure all his words. 11 For this is what Amos says:
‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
and Israel shall surely be exiled from its land.’”
12 To Amos, Amaziah said: “Off with you, seer, flee to the land of Judah and there earn your bread by prophesying! 13 But never again prophesy in Bethel;(B) for it is the king’s sanctuary and a royal temple.” 14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I am not a prophet,[c] nor do I belong to a company of prophets. I am a herdsman and a dresser of sycamores,(C) 15 but the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’(D) 16 Now hear the word of the Lord:
You say: ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
do not preach against the house of Isaac.’
17 Therefore thus says the Lord:
Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword.
Your land shall be parcelled out by measuring line,
and you yourself shall die in an unclean land;
and Israel shall be exiled from its land.”
Footnotes
- 7:1 The king’s mowing: the first harvesting of the crops apparently belonged to the king as a kind of tax.
- 7:7 A plummet: with this vision, the pleas of the prophet (vv. 1–6) disappear, and disaster is announced. One use of the plummet in ancient times was to see how far out of line a wall or building had become, to determine whether it could be repaired or would have to be torn down. Like a structure that had become architecturally unsound, Israel was unsalvageable and would have to be demolished (cf. 2 Kgs 21:13; Is 34:11; Lam 2:8).
- 7:14 I am not a prophet: Amos reacts strongly to Amaziah’s attempt to classify him as a “prophet-for-hire” who “earns [his] bread” by giving oracles in exchange for payment (cf. 1 Sm 9:3–10; Mi 3:5). To disassociate himself from this kind of “professional” prophet, Amos rejects outright the title of nabi’ (“prophet”). By profession he is a herdsman/sheepbreeder and a dresser of sycamore trees, but God’s call has commissioned him to prophesy to Israel.
Amós 7
La Biblia de las Américas
Visiones de la langosta, del fuego y de la plomada
7 Esto [a] me mostró el Señor Dios[b]: He aquí, Él formaba enjambre de langostas(A) cuando comenzaba a brotar[c] la cosecha de primavera. Y he aquí, la cosecha de primavera era después de la siega[d] del rey. 2 Y sucedió que cuando habían terminado de devorar la hierba de la tierra(B), yo dije:
Señor Dios, perdona, te ruego(C).
¿Cómo[e] podrá resistir Jacob
si es tan pequeño(D)?
3 Se apiadó el Señor(E) de esto:
No sucederá —dijo el Señor.
4 Esto me mostró el Señor Dios: he aquí, el Señor Dios llamaba para juzgarlos con fuego, y consumió el gran abismo y empezó a consumir el campo[f](F).
5 Entonces dije:
Señor Dios, cesa, te ruego(G).
¿Cómo[g] podrá resistir Jacob
si es tan pequeño(H)?
6 Se apiadó el Señor(I) de esto:
Esto tampoco sucederá —dijo el Señor Dios.
7 Esto Él me mostró: He aquí, el Señor estaba junto a[h] un muro hecho a plomo, y tenía en su mano una plomada. 8 Y el Señor me dijo: ¿Qué ves, Amós(J)? Y respondí: Una plomada. Entonces el Señor dijo:
He aquí, pondré una plomada
en medio de mi pueblo Israel(K).
Ya no volveré a dejarlos sin castigo[i](L).
9 Los lugares altos de Isaac(M) serán asolados(N)
y los santuarios de Israel destruidos(O);
y yo me levantaré con espada contra la casa de Jeroboam(P).
Amós acusado por Amasías
10 Entonces Amasías, sacerdote de Betel(Q), envió palabra a Jeroboam, rey de Israel(R), diciendo: Amós conspira contra ti en medio de la casa de Israel; la tierra ya no puede soportar todas sus palabras(S). 11 Porque así dice Amós: «Jeroboam morirá a espada y ciertamente Israel saldrá en cautiverio de su tierra». 12 Y Amasías dijo a Amós: Vete, vidente, huye(T) a la tierra de Judá, come allí pan y allí profetiza; 13 pero en Betel no vuelvas a profetizar más(U), porque es santuario del rey(V) y residencia[j] real.
14 Entonces respondió Amós y dijo a Amasías: Yo no soy profeta, ni hijo de profeta(W), sino que soy boyero y cultivador[k] de sicómoros. 15 Pero el Señor me tomó cuando pastoreaba el[l] rebaño, y[m] me dijo: Ve, profetiza a mi pueblo Israel(X). 16 Ahora pues, escucha la palabra del Señor: Tú dices: «No profetices(Y) contra Israel ni hables[n] contra(Z) la casa de Isaac». 17 Por tanto, así dice el Señor: «Tu mujer se prostituirá(AA) en la ciudad, tus hijos y tus hijas caerán a espada(AB), tu tierra será repartida a cordel, y tú morirás en una tierra inmunda(AC). Y ciertamente Israel saldrá de su tierra en cautiverio».
Footnotes
- Amós 7:1 Lit., Así, también en los vers. 4 y 7
- Amós 7:1 Heb., YHWH, generalmente traducido Señor; y así en el resto del cap.
- Amós 7:1 Lit., al principio del retoño de
- Amós 7:1 O, del esquileo
- Amós 7:2 Lit., ¿A quién
- Amós 7:4 Lit., la porción
- Amós 7:5 Lit., ¿A quién
- Amós 7:7 O, sobre
- Amós 7:8 Lit., a pasarlo por alto
- Amós 7:13 Lit., casa
- Amós 7:14 O, recogedor
- Amós 7:15 Lit., de detrás del
- Amós 7:15 Lit., y el Señor
- Amós 7:16 Lit., destiles
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.
