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Amaziah Complains to the King

10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent to King Jeroboam of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the very center of the house of Israel; the land is not able to bear all his words.(A) 11 For thus Amos has said,

‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,
    and Israel must go into exile
    away from his land.’ ”(B)

12 And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, earn your bread there, and prophesy there, 13 but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”(C)

14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am[a] no prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I am[b] a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees,(D) 15 and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’(E)

16 “Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.
You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
    and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’(F)
17 Therefore thus says the Lord:
Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city,
    and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
    and your land shall be parceled out by line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
    and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.”(G)

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Footnotes

  1. 7.14 Or was
  2. 7.14 Or was

Amos and Amaziah

10 Then Amaziah, the priest of Bethel, sent a message to Jeroboam king of Israel:[a]

Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to endure all of his words. 11 This is what Amos says: “Jeroboam will die by the sword, and Israel will certainly go into exile away from its own soil.”

12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “You seer, get out of here! Flee to the land of Judah. You may eat food and prophesy there. 13 But you must never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the sanctuary of the king and the national temple.”

14 Then Amos responded to Amaziah:

I was not a prophet, nor was I a son of a prophet. Rather, I was a sheep breeder and I took care of sycamore fig trees. 15 But the Lord took me from tending flocks, and the Lord said to me, “Go, prophesy to my people Israel.”

16 But now, hear the word of the Lord, you who are saying, “Do not prophesy against Israel” and “Do not preach[b] against the house of Isaac.”

17 This is what the Lord says: “Your wife will be a prostitute in the city, and your sons and your daughters will fall by the sword. Your land will be parceled out with a measuring line, and as for you, you will die upon unclean soil. And Israel will certainly go into exile far away from its own soil.”

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 7:10 Jeroboam II ruled from about 793 to 753 bc. This encounter was probably near the end of his reign.
  2. Amos 7:16 Literally drip