Amos 9
The Message
Israel Thrown into a Sieve
9 1-4 I saw my Master standing beside the altar at the shrine. He said:
“Hit the tops of the shrine’s pillars,
make the floor shake.
The roof’s about to fall on the heads of the people,
and whoever’s still alive, I’ll kill.
No one will get away,
no runaways will make it.
If they dig their way down into the underworld,
I’ll find them and bring them up.
If they climb to the stars,
I’ll find them and bring them down.
If they hide out at the top of Mount Carmel,
I’ll find them and bring them back.
If they dive to the bottom of the ocean,
I’ll send Dragon to swallow them up.
If they’re captured alive by their enemies,
I’ll send Sword to kill them.
I’ve made up my mind
to hurt them, not help them.”
5-6 My Master, God-of-the-Angel-Armies,
touches the earth, a mere touch, and it trembles.
The whole world goes into mourning.
Earth swells like the Nile at flood stage;
then the water subsides, like the great Nile of Egypt.
God builds his palace—towers soaring high in the skies,
foundations set on the rock-firm earth.
He calls ocean waters and they come,
then he ladles them out on the earth.
God, your God, does all this.
* * *
7-8 “Do you Israelites think you’re any better than the far-off Cushites?” God’s Decree.
“Am I not involved with all nations? Didn’t I bring Israel up from Egypt, the Philistines from Caphtor, the Arameans from Qir? But you can be sure that I, God, the Master, have my eye on the Kingdom of Sin. I’m going to wipe it off the face of the earth. Still, I won’t totally destroy the family of Jacob.” God’s Decree.
9-10 “I’m still giving the orders around here. I’m throwing Israel into a sieve among all the nations and shaking them good, shaking out all the sin, all the sinners. No real grain will be lost, but all the sinners will be sifted out and thrown away, the people who say, ‘Nothing bad will ever happen in our lifetime. It won’t even come close.’
Blessings Like Wine Pouring off the Mountains
11-12 “But also on that Judgment Day I will restore David’s house that has fallen to pieces. I’ll repair the holes in the roof, replace the broken windows, fix it up like new. David’s people will be strong again and seize what’s left of enemy Edom, plus everyone else under my sovereign judgment.” God’s Decree. He will do this.
13-15 “Yes indeed, it won’t be long now.” God’s Decree.
“Things are going to happen so fast your head will swim, one thing fast on the heels of the other. You won’t be able to keep up. Everything will be happening at once—and everywhere you look, blessings! Blessings like wine pouring off the mountains and hills. I’ll make everything right again for my people Israel:
“They’ll rebuild their ruined cities.
They’ll plant vineyards and drink good wine.
They’ll work their gardens and eat fresh vegetables.
And I’ll plant them, plant them on their own land.
They’ll never again be uprooted from the land I’ve given them.”
God, your God, says so.
Amos 9
International Standard Version
Israel to be Destroyed
9 I saw the Lord standing beside the altar as he was saying,
“Strike the doorposts
so that the thresholds tremble,
bringing them down on the heads of all of them.
Those who survive I will kill with the sword.
Those who flee will not escape.
There will be no deliverance for the fugitives.
2 “Even if they burrow into Sheol,[a]
from there my hand will find them.
Even if they ascend to the heavens,
from there I will bring them down.
3 Even if they hide at the top of Mount[b] Carmel,
from there I will search and seize them.
Even if they hide from my sight in the depths of the sea,
from there I will order the serpent to strike them.
4 Even if they go into exile among their enemies,
from there I will order the sword to kill them.
I will fix my gaze on them to inflict disaster,
and not to do good.[c]
5 “The Lord God of the Heavenly Armies
who is touching the earth so that it melts
and all of its inhabitants mourn there—
the land rises like the Nile[d] River,
but sinks like the river of Egypt—
6 who is building his stairway to heaven
and setting its foundation on earth;
who is calling for the waters of the sea
and pouring them out over the surface of the land—
the Lord is his name!
7 “Aren’t you people of Israel like the people of Cush to me?”
declares the Lord.
“I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt, did I not,
as well as the Philistines from Caphtor[e]
and the Arameans from Kir?
8 Look! The eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy it from the face of the earth;
but I will not totally destroy the house of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.
9 “Look! I’m giving the order:
I will sift the house of Israel throughout all the nations,
as one sifts with a sieve,
yet not a single kernel will reach the ground!
10 All sinners among my people will die by the sword,
especially all who are saying,
‘Disaster will not come upon or conquer us!’”
Israel to be Restored
11 “At that time I will restore David’s fallen tent,
restoring its torn places.
I will restore its ruins,
rebuilding it as it was long ago,
12 so my people[f] may inherit the remnant of Edom
and all of the nations that bear my name,”
declares the Lord who is bringing this about.
13 “Look! The days are coming,”
declares the Lord,
“when the one who sows will overtake the harvester
and the treader of grapes will overtake[g] the planter.
Fresh wine will drip down from the mountains,
cascading down from the hills.
14 I will surely restore my people Israel;
they will rebuild the ruined cities
and inhabit them.[h]
They will plant vineyards
and drink the wine from them.
They will plant gardens
and eat the fruit from them.
15 I will plant the people of Israel[i] in their own land,
never again to be torn out of their land
that I gave them,”
says the Lord your God.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Copyright © 1995-2014 by ISV Foundation. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED INTERNATIONALLY. Used by permission of Davidson Press, LLC.
