Beginning
Amos
1 1 The time of the prophecy of Amos. 3 The word of the Lord against Damascus, 6 The Philistines, Tyre, Idumea, and Ammon.
1 The words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen at [a]Tekoa, which he saw upon Israel, in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of [b]Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the [c]earthquake.
2 And he said, The Lord shall roar from Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem, and the dwelling places of the shepherds shall perish, and the top [d]of Carmel shall wither.
3 ¶ Thus saith the Lord, For [e]three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn to it, because they have [f]threshed Gilead with threshing instruments of iron.
4 Therefore will I send a fire into the house of Hazael, and it shall devour the [g]palaces of Ben-Hadad.
5 I will break also the bars of Damascus, and cut off the inhabitant of Bikeath-Aven: and him that holdeth the scepter out of Beth Eden, and the people of Aram shall go into captivity unto [h]Kir, saith the Lord.
6 Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not turn to it, because they [i]carried away prisoners the whole captivity to shut them up in Edom.
7 Therefore will I send a fire upon the walls of Gaza, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
8 And I will cut off the inhabitant from Ashdod, and him that holdeth the scepter from Ashkelon, and turn mine hand to Ekron, and the remnant of the Philistines shall perish, saith the Lord God.
9 ¶ Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not turn to it, because they shut the whole captivity in Edom, and have not remembered the [j]brotherly covenant.
10 Therefore will I send a fire upon the walls of Tyre, and it shall devour the palaces thereof.
11 ¶ Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not turn to it, because he did pursue his brother with the sword, and [k]did cast off all pity, and his anger spoiled him evermore, and his wrath watched him [l][always].
12 Therefore will I send a fire upon Teman, and it shall devour the places of Bozrah.
13 ¶ Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of the children of Ammon, and for four, I will not turn to it, because they [m]have ripped up the women with child of Gilead, that they might enlarge their border.
14 Therefore will I kindle a fire in the wall of Rabbah, and it shall devour the palaces thereof, with shouting in the day of battle, and with a tempest in the day of the whirlwind.
15 And their king shall go into captivity, he and his princes together, saith the Lord.
2 Against Moab, Judah, and Israel.
1 Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not turn to it, because it burnt the [n]bones of the king of Edom into lime.
2 Therefore will I send a fire upon Moab, and it shall devour the palaces of Kerioth, and Moab shall die with tumult, with shouting, and with the sound of a trumpet.
3 And I will cut off the judge out of the midst thereof, and will slay all the princes thereof with him, saith the Lord.
4 ¶ Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, [o]I will not turn to it, because they have cast away the Law of the Lord, and have not kept his commandments, and their lies caused them to err after the which their fathers have walked.
5 Therefore will I send a fire upon Judah, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem.
6 ¶ Thus saith the Lord, For three transgressions of [p]Israel, and for four, I will not turn to it, because they sold the righteous for silver, and the poor for [q]shoes.
7 They gape over the head of the poor, in the [r]dust of the earth, and pervert the ways of the meek: and a man and his father will go in to a maid, to dishonor mine holy Name.
8 And they lie down upon clothes laid to pledge [s]by every altar: and they [t]drink the wine of the condemned in the house of their God.
9 Yet destroyed I the [u]Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars, and he was strong as the oaks: notwithstanding I destroyed his fruit from above, and his root from beneath.
10 Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt, and led you forty years through the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.
11 And I raised up of your sons for Prophets, and of [v]your young men for Nazirites. Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord?
12 But ye gave the Nazirites wine to drink, and commanded the Prophets, saying, Prophesy not.
13 Behold, I am [w]pressed under you as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.
14 Therefore the flight shall perish from the [x]swift, and the strong shall not strengthen his force, neither shall the mighty save his life.
15 Nor he that handleth the bow shall stand, and he that is swift of foot, shall not escape, neither shall he that rideth the horse, save his life.
16 And he that is of a mighty courage among the strong men, shall flee away naked in that day, saith the Lord.
3 He reproveth the house of Israel of ingratitude. 11 For the which God will punish them.
1 Hear this word that the Lord pronounceth against you, O children of Israel, even against the whole family which I brought up from the land of Egypt, saying,
2 You [y]only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will visit you for all your iniquities.
3 Can two walk together except they be [z]agreed?
4 Will a [aa]lion roar in the forest, when he hath no prey? or will a lion’s whelp cry out of his den, if he hath taken nothing?
5 [ab]Can a bird fall in a snare upon the earth, where no fowler is? or will he take up the [ac]snare from the earth, and have taken nothing at all?
6 Or [ad]shall a trumpet be blown in the city, and the people be not afraid? or shall there [ae]be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?
7 Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he [af]revealeth his secret unto his servants the Prophets.
8 The lion hath roared: who will not be afraid? the Lord God hath spoken, who can but [ag]prophesy?
9 Proclaim in the palaces at [ah]Ashdod, and in the palaces in the land of Egypt, and say, Assemble yourselves upon the mountains of Samaria: so behold the great tumults in the midst thereof, and the oppressed in the midst thereof.
10 For they know not to do right, saith the Lord: they store up violence, and robbery [ai]in their palaces.
11 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, An adversary shall come even round about the country, and shall bring down thy strength from thee, and thy palaces shall be spoiled.
12 Thus saith the Lord, As the shepherd taketh [aj]out of the mouth of the lion two legs, or a piece of an ear: so shall the children of Israel be taken out that dwell in Samaria in the corner of a bed: and in [ak]Damascus, as in a couch.
13 Hear, and testify in the house of Jacob, saith the Lord God, the God of hosts.
14 Surely in the day that I shall visit the transgressions of Israel upon him, I will also visit the altars of Bethel, and the horns of the altar shall be broken off, and fall to the ground.
15 And I will smite the winter house with the summer house, and the houses of ivory shall perish, and the great houses shall be consumed, saith the Lord.
4 Against the governors of Samaria.
1 Hear this word, ye [al]kine of Bashan that are in the mountain of Samaria, which oppress the poor, and destroy the needy, and they say to their masters, [am]Bring, and let us drink.
2 The Lord God hath sworn by his holiness, that lo, the days shall come upon you, that he will take you away with [an]thorns, and your posterity with fish-hooks.
3 And ye shall go out at the breaches every cow forward: and ye shall cast yourselves out of the palace, saith the Lord.
4 Come to [ao]Bethel, and transgress: to Gilgal, and multiply transgression, and bring your sacrifices in the morning, and your riches after three [ap]years.
5 And offer a thanksgiving [aq]of leaven, publish and proclaim the free offerings: for this [ar]liketh you, O ye children of Israel, saith the Lord God.
6 And therefore have I given you [as]cleanness of teeth in all your cities, and scarceness of bread in all your places, yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
7 And also I have withholden the rain from you, when there were yet three [at]months to the harvest, and I caused it to rain upon one city, and have not caused it to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not, withered.
8 So two or three cities wandered unto one city to drink water, but they were [au]not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
9 I have smitten you with blasting and mildew: your great gardens and your vineyards, and your fig trees, and your olive trees did the palmerworm devour: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
10 Pestilence have I sent among you after the manner of [av]Egypt: your young men have I slain with the sword, and have taken away your horses: and I have made the stink of your tents to come up even into your nostrils, yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
11 I have overthrown you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah: and ye were as a [aw]firebrand plucked out of the burning, yet have ye not returned unto me, saith the Lord.
12 Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do thus unto thee, prepare to [ax]meet thy God, O Israel.
13 For lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought: which maketh the morning darkness, and walketh upon the high places of the earth, the Lord God of hosts is his Name.
5 A lamentation for the captivity of Israel.
1 Hear ye this word, which I lift up upon you, even a lamentation of the house of Israel.
2 The [ay]virgin Israel is fallen, and shall no more rise: she is left upon her land, and there is none to raise her up.
3 For thus saith the Lord God, The city which went out by a thousand, shall leave [az]an hundred: and that which went forth by an hundred, shall leave ten to the house of Israel.
4 For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live.
5 But seek not Bethel, nor enter into [ba]Gilgal, and go not to Beersheba: for Gilgal shall go into captivity, and Bethel shall come to nought.
6 Seek the Lord, and ye shall live, lest he break out like fire in the house of Joseph and devour it, and there be none to quench it in Bethel.
7 They turn [bb]judgment to wormwood, and leave off righteousness in the earth.
8 He [bc]maketh Pleiades, and Orion, and he turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and he maketh the day dark as night: he calleth the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the open earth: the Lord is his Name.
9 He strengtheneth the destroyer against the mighty, and the destroyer shall come against the fortress.
10 They have hated him [bd]that rebuked in the gate: and they abhorred him that speaketh uprightly.
11 Forasmuch then as your treading is upon the poor, and [be]ye take from him burdens of wheat, ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them: ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them.
12 For I know your manifold transgressions, and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take rewards, and they oppress the poor in the gate.
13 Therefore [bf]the prudent shall keep silence in that time, for it is an evil time.
14 Seek good and not evil, that ye may live: and the Lord God of hosts shall be with you, as you have spoken.
15 Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the Lord God of hosts will be merciful unto the remnant of Joseph.
16 Therefore the Lord God of hosts, the Lord saith thus, Mourning shall be in all streets: and they shall say in all the high ways, Alas, alas: and they shall call the [bg]husbandman to lamentation, and such as can mourn, to mourning.
17 And in all the vines shall be lamentation: for I will pass through thee, saith the Lord.
18 Woe unto you, that [bh]desire the day of the Lord: what have you to do with it? the day of the Lord is darkness and not light,
19 As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him: or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him.
20 Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light, even darkness and no light in it?
21 I hate and abhor your feast days, and I will not smell in your solemn assemblies.
22 Though ye offer me burnt offerings and meat offerings, [bi]I will not accept them: neither will I regard the peace offerings of your fat beasts.
23 Take thou away from me the multitude of thy songs (for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.)
24 And let judgment run down as [bj]waters, and righteousness as a mighty river.
25 Have ye offered unto me sacrifices and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house of Israel?
26 But you have born [bk]Sikkuth your king, and Chiun your images, and the star of your gods which you made to yourselves.
27 Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond Damascus, saith the Lord, whose Name is the God of hosts.
Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.