Amos 8
GOD’S WORD Translation
The End Has Come for Israel
8 This is what the Almighty Lord showed me: a basket of ripe summer fruit.
2 He asked, “What do you see, Amos?”
“A basket of ripe summer fruit,” I answered.
Then the Lord said to me, “My people Israel are now ripe. I will no longer overlook what they have done. 3 On that day the songs of the temple will become loud cries,” declares the Almighty Lord. “There will be dead bodies scattered everywhere. Hush!”
4 Listen to this, those who trample on the needy
and ruin those who are oppressed in the world.
5 You say to yourselves,
“When will the New Moon Festival be over
so that we can sell more grain?
When will the day of rest—a holy day, be over
so that we can sell more wheat?
We can shrink the size of the bushel baskets,
increase the cost,
and cheat with dishonest scales.
6 We can buy the poor with money
and the needy for a pair of sandals.
We can sell the husks mixed in with the wheat.”
7 The Lord has sworn an oath by Jacob’s pride:
“I will never forget anything that they have done.”
8 The land will tremble because of this.
Everyone who lives in it will mourn.
The entire land will rise like the Nile,
be tossed about, and then sink like Egypt’s river.
9 On that day, declares the Almighty Lord,
I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10 I will turn your festivals into funerals
and all your songs into funeral songs.
I will put sackcloth around everyone’s waist
and shave everyone’s head.
I will make that day seem like a funeral for an only child,
and its end will be bitter.
11 The days are going to come, declares the Almighty Lord,
when I will send a famine throughout the land.
It won’t be an ordinary famine or drought.
Instead, there will be a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 People will wander from sea to sea
and roam from the north to the east,
searching for the Lord’s word.
But they won’t find it.
13 On that day beautiful young women and strong young men
will faint because of their thirst.
14 ⌞How horrible it will be for⌟ those who swear by Ashimah,
the idol of Samaria, and say,
“I solemnly swear, Dan, as your god lives….”
“I solemnly swear as long as there is a road to Beersheba….”
Those who say this will fall and never get up again.
Amos 8
Christian Standard Bible
Fourth Vision: A Basket of Summer Fruit
8 The Lord God showed me this: a basket of summer fruit. 2 He asked me, “What do you see, Amos?” (A)
I replied, “A basket of summer fruit.”[a](B)
The Lord said to me, “The end has come for my people Israel;(C) I will no longer spare them.(D) 3 In that day the temple[b] songs(E) will become wailing”(F)—this is the Lord God’s declaration. “Many dead bodies, thrown everywhere!(G) Silence!” (H)
4 Hear this, you who trample on the needy(I)
and do away with the poor of the land,(J)
5 asking, “When will the New Moon be over
so we may sell grain,(K)
and the Sabbath,
so we may market wheat?(L)
We can reduce the measure
while increasing the price[c]
and cheat with dishonest scales.(M)
6 We can buy the poor with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals(N)
and even sell the chaff!”
7 The Lord has sworn(O) by the Pride of Jacob:[d](P)
I will never forget all their deeds.(Q)
8 Because of this, won’t the land quake(R)
and all who dwell in it mourn?(S)
All of it will rise like the Nile;(T)
it will surge and then subside
like the Nile in Egypt.(U)
9 And in that day—
this is the declaration of the Lord God—
I will make the sun go down at noon;(V)
I will darken the land in the daytime.(W)
10 I will turn your feasts into mourning(X)
and all your songs into lamentation;(Y)
I will cause everyone[e] to wear sackcloth(Z)
and every head to be shaved.(AA)
I will make that grief
like mourning for an only son(AB)
and its outcome like a bitter day.
11 Look, the days are coming—
this is the declaration of the Lord God—
when I will send a famine through the land:
not a famine of bread or a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord.(AC)
12 People will stagger from sea to sea
and roam from north to east
seeking the word of the Lord,(AD)
but they will not find it.
13 In that day the beautiful young women,(AE)
the young men also, will faint from thirst.(AF)
14 Those who swear by the guilt of Samaria(AG)
and say, “As your god lives, Dan,”(AH)
or, “As the way[f][g] of Beer-sheba lives”(AI)—
they will fall, never to rise again.(AJ)
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