14 Therefore the Lord will cut off head and tail from Israel,
Palm branch and bulrush (A)in one day.

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14 So the Lord will cut off from Israel both head and tail,
    both palm branch and reed(A) in a single day;(B)

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15 Neither will there be any work for Egypt,
Which (A)the head or tail,
Palm branch or bulrush, may do.

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15 There is nothing Egypt can do—
    head or tail, palm branch or reed.(A)

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Therefore her plagues will come (A)in one day—death and mourning and famine. And (B)she will be utterly burned with fire, (C)for strong is the Lord God who [a]judges her.

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 18:8 NU, M has judged

Therefore in one day(A) her plagues will overtake her:
    death, mourning and famine.
She will be consumed by fire,(B)
    for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.

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17 (A)For in one hour such great riches [a]came to nothing.’ (B)Every shipmaster, all who travel by ship, sailors, and as many as trade on the sea, stood at a distance

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Footnotes

  1. Revelation 18:17 have been laid waste

17 In one hour(A) such great wealth has been brought to ruin!’(B)

“Every sea captain, and all who travel by ship, the sailors, and all who earn their living from the sea,(C) will stand far off.(D)

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10 standing at a distance for fear of her torment, saying, (A)‘Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! (B)For in one hour your judgment has come.’

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10 Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off(A) and cry:

“‘Woe! Woe to you, great city,(B)
    you mighty city of Babylon!
In one hour(C) your doom has come!’

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“Therefore I will make Samaria (A)a heap of ruins in the field,
Places for planting a vineyard;
I will pour down her stones into the valley,
And I will (B)uncover her foundations.
All her carved images shall be beaten to pieces,
And all her (C)pay as a harlot shall be burned with the fire;
All her idols I will lay desolate,
For she gathered it from the pay of a harlot,
And they shall return to the (D)pay of a harlot.”

Mourning for Israel and Judah

Therefore I will wail and howl,
I will go stripped and naked;
(E)I will make a wailing like the jackals
And a mourning like the ostriches,

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“Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
    a place for planting vineyards.(A)
I will pour her stones(B) into the valley
    and lay bare her foundations.(C)
All her idols(D) will be broken to pieces;(E)
    all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
    I will destroy all her images.(F)
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,(G)
    as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

Weeping and Mourning

Because of this I will weep(H) and wail;
    I will go about barefoot(I) and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
    and moan like an owl.

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The Destruction of Israel

I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and He said:

“Strike the [a]doorposts, that the thresholds may shake,
And (A)break them on the heads of them all.
I will slay the last of them with the sword.
(B)He who flees from them shall not get away,
And he who escapes from them shall not be delivered.

“Though(C) they dig into [b]hell,
From there My hand shall take them;
(D)Though they climb up to heaven,
From there I will bring them down;
And though they (E)hide themselves on top of Carmel,
From there I will search and take them;
Though they hide from My sight at the bottom of the sea,
From there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them;
Though they go into captivity before their enemies,
From there (F)I will command the sword,
And it shall slay them.
(G)I will set My eyes on them for harm and not for good.”

The Lord God of hosts,
He who touches the earth and it (H)melts,
(I)And all who dwell there mourn;
All of it shall swell like [c]the River,
And subside like the River of Egypt.
He who builds His (J)layers[d] in the sky,
And has founded His strata in the earth;
Who (K)calls for the waters of the sea,
And pours them out on the face of the earth—
(L)The Lord is His name.

Are you not like the [e]people of Ethiopia to Me,
O children of Israel?” says the Lord.
“Did I not bring up Israel from the land of Egypt,
The (M)Philistines from (N)Caphtor,[f]
And the Syrians from (O)Kir?

“Behold, (P)the eyes of the Lord God are on the sinful kingdom,
And I (Q)will destroy it from the face of the earth;
Yet I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,”
Says the Lord.

“For surely I will command,
And will [g]sift the house of Israel among all nations,
As grain is sifted in a sieve;
(R)Yet not the smallest [h]grain shall fall to the ground.

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:1 Capitals of the pillars
  2. Amos 9:2 Or Sheol
  3. Amos 9:5 The Nile
  4. Amos 9:6 Or stairs
  5. Amos 9:7 Lit. sons of the Ethiopians
  6. Amos 9:7 Crete
  7. Amos 9:9 shake
  8. Amos 9:9 Lit. pebble

Israel to Be Destroyed

I saw the Lord standing by the altar, and he said:

“Strike the tops of the pillars
    so that the thresholds shake.
Bring them down on the heads(A) of all the people;
    those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
    none will escape.(B)
Though they dig down to the depths below,(C)
    from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,(D)
    from there I will bring them down.(E)
Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,(F)
    there I will hunt them down and seize them.(G)
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,(H)
    there I will command the serpent(I) to bite them.(J)
Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
    there I will command the sword(K) to slay them.

“I will keep my eye on them
    for harm(L) and not for good.(M)(N)

The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,(O)
    and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
    then sinks like the river of Egypt;(P)
he builds his lofty palace[a](Q) in the heavens
    and sets its foundation[b] on the earth;
he calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out over the face of the land—
    the Lord is his name.(R)

“Are not you Israelites
    the same to me as the Cushites[c]?”(S)
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
    the Philistines(T) from Caphtor[d](U)
    and the Arameans from Kir?(V)

“Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
    are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy(W) it
    from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
    the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.(X)
“For I will give the command,
    and I will shake the people of Israel
    among all the nations
as grain(Y) is shaken in a sieve,(Z)
    and not a pebble will reach the ground.(AA)

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  3. Amos 9:7 That is, people from the upper Nile region
  4. Amos 9:7 That is, Crete

17 “Therefore(A) thus says the Lord:

(B)‘Your wife shall be a harlot in the city;
Your sons and daughters shall fall by the sword;
Your land shall be divided by survey line;
You shall die in a (C)defiled land;
And Israel shall surely be led away captive
From his own land.’ ”

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17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wife will become a prostitute(A) in the city,
    and your sons and daughters will fall by the sword.
Your land will be measured and divided up,
    and you yourself will die in a pagan[a] country.
And Israel will surely go into exile,(B)
    away from their native land.(C)’”

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 7:17 Hebrew an unclean

And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?”

And I said, “A plumb line.”

Then the Lord said:

“Behold, (A)I am setting a plumb line
In the midst of My people Israel;
(B)I will not pass by them anymore.
(C)The [a]high places of Isaac shall be desolate,
And the [b]sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste.
(D)I will rise with the sword against the house of Jeroboam.”

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 7:9 Places of pagan worship
  2. Amos 7:9 Or holy places

And the Lord asked me, “What do you see,(A) Amos?(B)

“A plumb line,(C)” I replied.

Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.(D)

“The high places(E) of Isaac will be destroyed
    and the sanctuaries(F) of Israel will be ruined;
    with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.(G)

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11 For behold, (A)the Lord gives a command:
(B)He will break the great house into bits,
And the little house into pieces.

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11 For the Lord has given the command,
    and he will smash(A) the great house(B) into pieces
    and the small house into bits.(C)

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The virgin of Israel has fallen;
She will rise no more.
She lies forsaken on her land;
There is no one to raise her up.

For thus says the Lord God:

“The city that goes out by a thousand
Shall have a hundred left,
And that which goes out by a hundred
Shall have ten left to the house of Israel.”

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“Fallen is Virgin(A) Israel,
    never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
    with no one to lift her up.(B)

This is what the Sovereign Lord says to Israel:

“Your city that marches out a thousand strong
    will have only a hundred left;
your town that marches out a hundred strong
    will have only ten left.(C)

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12 Thus says the Lord:

“As a shepherd [a]takes from the mouth of a lion
Two legs or a piece of an ear,
So shall the children of Israel be taken out
Who dwell in Samaria—
In the corner of a bed and [b]on the edge of a couch!

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 3:12 Or snatches
  2. Amos 3:12 Heb. uncertain, possibly on the cover

12 This is what the Lord says:

“As a shepherd rescues from the lion’s(A) mouth
    only two leg bones or a piece of an ear,
so will the Israelites living in Samaria be rescued,
    with only the head of a bed
    and a piece of fabric[a] from a couch.[b](B)

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 3:12 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
  2. Amos 3:12 Or Israelites be rescued, / those who sit in Samaria / on the edge of their beds / and in Damascus on their couches.

14 (A)Therefore [a]flight shall perish from the swift,
The strong shall not strengthen his power,
(B)Nor shall the mighty [b]deliver himself;
15 He shall not stand who handles the bow,
The swift of foot shall not [c]escape,
Nor shall he who rides a horse deliver himself.
16 The most [d]courageous men of might
Shall flee naked in that day,”
Says the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Amos 2:14 Or the place of refuge
  2. Amos 2:14 Lit. save his soul or life
  3. Amos 2:15 Or save
  4. Amos 2:16 Lit. strong of his heart among the mighty

14 The swift will not escape,(A)
    the strong(B) will not muster their strength,
    and the warrior will not save his life.(C)
15 The archer(D) will not stand his ground,
    the fleet-footed soldier will not get away,
    and the horseman(E) will not save his life.(F)
16 Even the bravest warriors(G)
    will flee naked on that day,”
declares the Lord.

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