The Destruction of Israel

I saw the Lord standing beside[a] the altar, and he said:

(A)“Strike the capitals until (B)the thresholds (C)shake,
    (D)and shatter them on the heads of all the people;[b]
and those who are left of them I will kill with the sword;
    (E)not one of them shall flee away;
    not one of them shall escape.

(F)“If they dig into Sheol,
    from there shall my hand take them;
(G)if they climb up to heaven,
    from there I will bring them down.
If they hide themselves on (H)the top of Carmel,
    from there I will search them out and take them;
(I)and if they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,
    there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.
(J)And if they go into captivity before their enemies,
    there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them;
(K)and I will fix my eyes upon them
    for evil and not for good.”

The Lord God of hosts,
he who touches the earth and (L)it melts,
    and all who dwell in it mourn,
(M)and all of it rises like the Nile,
    (N)and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt;
(O)who builds his upper chambers in the heavens
    and founds his vault upon the earth;
(P)who calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out upon the surface of the earth—
(Q)the Lord is his name.

“Are you not like (R)the Cushites to me,
    O people of Israel?” declares the Lord.
(S)“Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,
    and (T)the Philistines from (U)Caphtor and the Syrians from (V)Kir?
Behold, (W)the eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom,
    and I will destroy it from the surface of the ground,
    (X)except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.

“For behold, I will command,
    (Y)and shake the house of Israel among all the nations
as one shakes with a sieve,
    but no pebble shall fall to the earth.
10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,
    who say, (Z)‘Disaster shall not overtake or meet us.’

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:1 Or on
  2. Amos 9:1 Hebrew all of them

Fifth Vision: The Lord beside the Altar

I saw the Lord standing beside the altar,(A) and He said:

Strike the capitals of the pillars(B)
so that the thresholds shake;
knock them down on the heads of all the people.
Then I will kill the rest of them with the sword.(C)
None of those who flee will get away;(D)
none of the fugitives will escape.
If they dig down to Sheol,(E)
from there My hand will take them;
if they climb up to heaven,(F)
from there I will bring them down.
If they hide themselves
on the top of Carmel,
from there I will track them down(G)
and seize them;
if they conceal themselves
from My sight on the sea floor,(H)
from there I will command
the sea serpent to bite them.(I)
And if they are driven
by their enemies into captivity,(J)
from there I will command
the sword to kill them.(K)
I will fix My eyes on them
for harm and not for good.(L)

The Lord, the God of Hosts—
He touches the earth;(M)
it melts, and all who dwell in it mourn;
all of it rises like the Nile
and subsides like the Nile of Egypt.(N)
He builds His upper chambers
in the heavens(O)
and lays the foundation of His vault
on the earth.(P)
He summons the waters of the sea
and pours them out on the face of the earth.(Q)
Yahweh is His name.(R)

Announcement of Judgment

Israelites, are you not like the Cushites to Me?(S)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Didn’t I bring Israel from the land of Egypt,
the Philistines from Caphtor,[a](T)
and the Arameans from Kir?(U)
Look, the eyes of the Lord God
are on the sinful kingdom,(V)
and I will destroy it
from the face of the earth.(W)
However, I will not totally destroy
the house of Jacob(X)
this is the Lord’s declaration—
for I am about to give the command,
and I will shake the house of Israel(Y)
among all the nations,
as one shakes a sieve,
but not a pebble will fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners among My people(Z)
who say: “Disaster will never overtake[b]
or confront us,”(AA)
will die by the sword.

Read full chapter

Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:7 Probably Crete
  2. Amos 9:10 Or You will not let disaster come near