Amos 8
Legacy Standard Bible
A Famine for Hearing the Words of Yahweh
8 Thus Lord Yahweh showed me, and behold, there was a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, “What do you see, Amos?” And (A)I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then Yahweh said to me, “The (B)end has come for My people Israel. I will (C)pass over them no longer. 3 And they will (D)wail with the (E)songs of the palace in that day,” declares Lord Yahweh. “Many will be the (F)corpses; in every place [a]they will cast them forth [b]in silence.”
4 Hear this, you who [c](G)trample the needy, even to cause the humble of the land to cease, 5 saying,
“When will the (H)new moon pass over,
So that we may sell grain,
And the (I)sabbath, that we may open the wheat market,
To make the [d]bushel smaller and the [e]shekel bigger,
And to (J)cheat with a deceptive balance,
6 So as to (K)buy the poor for [f]money
And the needy for a pair of sandals,
And that we may sell the refuse of the wheat?”
7 Yahweh has (L)sworn by the (M)lofty pride of Jacob,
“Indeed, I will (N)never forget any of their works.
8 Because of this will not the land (O)tremble
And everyone who inhabits it (P)mourn?
Indeed, all of it will (Q)rise up like the Nile,
And it will be tossed about
And subside like the Nile of Egypt.
9 And it will be in that day,” declares Lord Yahweh,
“That I will make the (R)sun go down at noon
And (S)make the earth dark in [g]broad daylight.
10 Then I will (T)overturn your feasts into mourning
And all your songs into [h]lamentation;
And I will bring up (U)sackcloth on everyone’s loins
And baldness on every head.
And I will make it (V)like a time of mourning for an only son,
And the end of it will be like a bitter day.
11 “Behold, days are coming,” declares Lord Yahweh,
“When I will send a famine on the land,
Not a famine for bread or a thirst for water,
But rather (W)for hearing the words of Yahweh.
12 People will wander from sea to sea
And from the north even to the east;
They will go to and fro to (X)seek the word of Yahweh,
But they will not find it.
13 In that day the beautiful (Y)virgins
And the choice men will (Z)faint from thirst.
14 As for those who swear by the [i](AA)guilt of Samaria,
Who say, ‘As your god lives, O (AB)Dan,’
And, ‘As the way of (AC)Beersheba lives,’
They will fall and (AD)not rise again.”
Amos 8
English Standard Version
The Coming Day of Bitter Mourning
8 (A)This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, (B)“Amos, what do you see?” And I said, (C)“A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me,
(D)“The end[a] has come upon my people Israel;
I will never again pass by them.
3 (E)The songs of the temple[b] (F)shall become wailings[c] in that day,”
declares the Lord God.
(G)“So many dead bodies!”
“They are thrown everywhere!”
(H)“Silence!”
4 Hear this, (I)you who trample on the needy
and bring the poor of the land to an end,
5 saying, “When will (J)the new moon be over,
that we may sell grain?
And (K)the Sabbath,
that we may offer wheat for sale,
that we may make (L)the ephah small and the shekel[d] great
and deal deceitfully with false balances,
6 that we may buy the poor for (M)silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals
and sell the chaff of the wheat?”
7 The Lord has sworn by (N)the pride of Jacob:
“Surely (O)I will never forget any of their deeds.
8 (P)Shall not the land tremble on this account,
and everyone mourn who dwells in it,
(Q)and all of it rise like the Nile,
and be tossed about (R)and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?”
9 “And on that day,” declares the Lord God,
(S)“I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.
10 (T)I will turn your feasts into mourning
and all your songs into lamentation;
(U)I will bring sackcloth on every waist
(V)and baldness on every head;
(W)I will make it like the mourning for an only son
and the end of it like a bitter day.
11 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God,
“when (X)I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
(Y)but of hearing the words of the Lord.
12 (Z)They shall wander from sea to sea,
and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord,
(AA)but they shall not find it.
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The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
