Amos 9:1-10
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
The Destruction of Israel
9 I saw the Lord standing beside[a] the altar, and he said:
Strike the capitals until the thresholds shake
and shatter them on the heads of all the people,[b]
and those who are left I will kill with the sword;
not one of them shall flee away,
not one of them shall escape.(A)
2 Though they dig into Sheol,
from there shall my hand take them;
though they climb up to heaven,
from there I will bring them down.(B)
3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,
from there I will search out and take them;
and though they hide from my sight at the bottom of the sea,
there I will command the serpent, and it shall bite them.(C)
4 And though they go into captivity in front of their enemies,
there I will command the sword, and it shall kill them;
and I will fix my eyes on them
for harm and not for good.(D)
5 The Lord, God of hosts,
he who touches the earth and it melts,
and all who live in it mourn,
and all of it rises like the Nile
and sinks again, like the Nile of Egypt,(E)
6 who builds his upper chambers in the heavens
and founds his vault upon the earth,
who calls for the waters of the sea
and pours them out upon the surface of the earth—
the Lord is his name.(F)
7 Are you not like the Cushites to me,
O people of Israel? says the Lord.
Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt
and the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir?(G)
8 The eyes of the Lord God are upon the sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it from the face of the earth
—except that I will not utterly destroy the house of Jacob,
says the Lord.(H)
9 For I will command
and shake the house of Israel among all the nations,
as one shakes with a sieve
but no pebble shall fall to the ground.(I)
10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword,
who say, “Evil shall not overtake or meet us.”(J)
Amos 9:1-10
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!’”
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