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Sinful Israelites Will Die by the Sword

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

“Strike the capitals so that the (B)thresholds will quake,
And (C)break them on the heads of them all!
Then I will (D)kill the rest of them with the sword;
(E)Not one of them who can flee will flee,
And not one of them who can survive will escape.
Though they dig into (F)Sheol,
From there will My hand take them;
And though they (G)ascend to heaven,
From there will I bring them down.
And though they hide on the [a]top of Carmel,
From there I will (H)search them out and take them;
And though they (I)conceal themselves from My eyes on the floor of the sea,
From there I will command the (J)serpent, and it will bite them.
And though they go into (K)captivity before their enemies,
From there I will command the sword that it kill them,
And I will (L)set My eyes against them for evil and not for good.”

Now Lord Yahweh of hosts,
The One who (M)touches the land so that it melts,
And (N)all those who inhabit it mourn,
And all of it rises up like the Nile
And subsides like the Nile of Egypt;
The One who builds His [b](O)upper chambers in the heavens
And has founded His vaulted dome over the earth;
The One who (P)calls for the waters of the sea
And (Q)pours them out on the face of the earth;
(R)Yahweh is His name.

“Are you not as the sons of (S)Ethiopia to Me,
O sons of Israel?” declares Yahweh.
“Have I not brought up Israel from the land of Egypt,
And the (T)Philistines from Caphtor and the (U)Arameans from (V)Kir?
Behold, the (W)eyes of Lord Yahweh are on the sinful kingdom,
And I will (X)destroy it from the face of the earth;
Nevertheless, I will (Y)not totally destroy the house of Jacob,”
Declares Yahweh.
“For behold, I am commanding,
And I will (Z)shake the house of Israel among all nations
As grain is shaken in a sieve,
But not a [c]kernel will fall to the ground.
10 All the (AA)sinners of My people will die by the sword,
Those who say, ‘(AB)The calamity will not overtake or confront us.’

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:3 Lit head, cf. 9:1
  2. Amos 9:6 Or stairs
  3. Amos 9:9 Or pebble

Description of Israel’s fate

    I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and the Lord said:
    Strike the pillars until the foundations shake,
        shatter them on the heads of all the people.
    With the sword, I will kill the last of them;
        not one of them will flee,
        not one of them will escape.
    If they dig through into the underworld,[a]
        from there my hand will take them.
    If they climb up to the heavens,
        from there I will bring them down.
    If they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
        I will search for them there and remove them.
    If they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,
        I will give an order to the sea serpent, and it will bite them.
    If they are forced from their homes before their enemies,
        there I will give an order to the sword, and it will kill them.
    I will fix my eyes on them
        for harm and not for good.

A divine confession

    The Lord, God of heavenly forces,
        touches the earth and it melts,
        and all who live in it are sick to death.
    All of it[b] rises up like the Nile
        and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt.
    It is the Lord who builds his upper rooms in the heavens
        and establishes his residence upon the earth;
    who summons the waters of the sea,
        and pours them out upon the face of the earth—
            the Lord is his name.

Divine address to the Israelites

    Aren’t you like the Cushites to me,
        people of Israel?
says the Lord.
    Haven’t I brought Israel up from the land of Egypt,
        and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?
    Look, the Lord God is eyeing the sinful kingdom,
        and I will destroy it from the face of the earth.
    However, I won’t destroy fully the house of Jacob,
says the Lord.

Warning to the house of Israel

    Look, I am giving orders,
        and I will shake the house of Israel among all the nations
    as one sifts dirt with a screen,
        but no pebble will fall to the ground.
10 All the sinners of my people will die by the sword,
        those who say,
    “Evil won’t overtake or meet us.”

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:2 Heb Sheol
  2. Amos 9:5 Or the earth