Old/New Testament
God Warns Israel to Stop Sinning
1 Amos was one of the shepherds from the town of Tekoa. God showed him this vision about Israel. It was at the time Uzziah was king of Judah and Jeroboam son of Jehoash was king of Israel. This happened two years before the earthquake.
2 Amos said,
“The Lord will roar like a lion from Jerusalem.
His loud voice will sound like a growl from Jerusalem.
The green pastures of the shepherds will become dry.
Even Mount Carmel will dry up.”
Israel’s Neighbors Are Punished
The People of Aram
3 This is what the Lord says:
“For the many crimes Damascus is doing,
I will punish them.
They beat the people of Gilead
with threshing boards that had iron teeth.
4 So I will send fire upon the house of Hazael.
That fire will destroy the strong towers of Ben-Hadad.
5 I will break down the gate of Damascus.
I will destroy the king who is in the Valley of Aven.
I will also destroy the king of Beth Eden.
The people of Aram will be taken captive to the country of Kir,” says the Lord.
The People of Philistia
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For the many crimes Gaza is doing,
I will punish them.
They sold all the people of one area
as slaves to Edom.
7 So I will send a fire on the walls of Gaza.
That fire will destroy the city’s strong towers.
8 I will destroy the king of the city of Ashdod.
I will destroy the king of the city of Ashkelon.
Then I will turn against the people of the city of Ekron.
I will punish the Philistines until they are all dead,” says the Lord God.
The People of Phoenicia
9 This is what the Lord says:
“For the many crimes Tyre is doing,
I will punish them.
They sold all the people of one area
as slaves to Edom.
They forgot the brotherly agreement they had made with Israel.
10 So I will send fire on the walls of Tyre.
That fire will destroy the city’s strong towers.”
The People of Edom
11 This is what the Lord says:
“For the many crimes Edom is doing,
I will punish them.
They hunted down their brothers, the Israelites, with the sword.
They showed them no mercy.
The people of Edom were continually angry.
And they did not hold back their great anger.
12 So I will send fire on the city of Teman.
That fire will even destroy the strong towers of Bozrah.”[a]
The People of Ammon
13 This is what the Lord says:
“For the many crimes Ammon is doing,
I will punish them.
They ripped open the pregnant women in Gilead.
They did this so they could take over that land
and make their own country larger.
14 So I will send fire on the walls of Rabbah.
That fire will destroy the city’s strong towers.
It will come during a day of battle.
There will be strong winds on a stormy day.
15 Then their king and leaders will be captured.
They will all be taken away together,” says the Lord.
The People of Moab
2 This is what the Lord says:
“For the many crimes Moab is doing,
I will punish them.
They burned the bones of the king of Edom into lime.
2 So I will send fire on Moab.
And it will destroy the strong towers of the city of Kerioth.
The people of Moab will die in a great noise.
They will die in the middle of sounds of war and trumpets.
3 So I will bring an end to the king of Moab.
And I will kill all its leaders with him,” says the Lord.
The People of Judah
4 This is what the Lord says:
“For the many crimes Judah is doing,
I will punish them.
They rejected the teachings of the Lord.
They did not keep his commands.
Their ancestors followed false gods.
And Judah followed those same gods.
5 So I will send fire on Judah.
It will destroy the strong towers of Jerusalem.”
Israel Is Punished
6 This is what the Lord says:
“For the many crimes Israel is doing,
I will punish them.
For silver they sell people who have done nothing wrong.
They sell poor people for the price of a pair of sandals.
7 They walk on poor people
as if they were dirt.
They refuse to be fair to those who are suffering.
Fathers and sons have physical relations with the same woman.
By doing this they ruin my holy name.
8 As they worship at their altars,
they lie down on clothes taken from poor people.
They make people pay money as punishment.
With that money they buy wine to drink in the house of their god.
9 “But it was I who destroyed the Amorites before them.
The Amorites were tall like cedar trees and as strong as oaks.
But I destroyed them completely.
10 It was I who brought you from the land of Egypt.
For 40 years I led you through the desert.
I led you so I could give you the land of the Amorites.
11 I made some of your sons to be prophets.
I made some of your young men to be Nazirites.
People of Israel, isn’t this true?” says the Lord.
12 “But you made the Nazirites drink wine.
You told the prophets not to prophesy my message.
13 Now I will crush you
as a wagon loaded with grain crushes anything beneath it.
14 No one will escape, not even the fastest runner.
Strong men will not be strong enough.
Warriors will not be able to save themselves.
15 Soldiers with bows and arrows will not stand and fight.
Even soldiers who run quickly will not get away.
Soldiers on horses will not escape alive.
16 At that time even the bravest warriors
will run away without their armor,” says the Lord.
Warning to Israel
3 Listen to this message that the Lord has spoken against you, people of Israel. The message is against the whole nation the Lord brought out of Egypt.
2 “I have chosen only you
out of all the families of the earth.
So I will punish you
for all your sins.”
3 Two people will not walk together
unless they have agreed to do this.
4 A lion in the forest will roar
when he has caught an animal.
He does not growl in his den
when he has caught nothing.
5 A bird will not fall into a trap
where there is no bait.
The trap will not spring shut
if there is nothing to catch.
6 When a trumpet blows a warning,
the people tremble.
When trouble comes to a city,
the Lord has caused it.
7 Before the Lord God does anything,
he tells his servants the prophets.
8 The lion has roared!
Who wouldn’t be afraid?
The Lord God has spoken,
and I must prophesy his message.
9 Announce this to the strong towers of Ashdod.
Announce it to the strong cities of Egypt:
“Come to the mountains of Samaria.
There you will see great confusion.
You will see people hurting others.”
10 “The people don’t know how to do what is right,” says the Lord.
“Their strong cities are filled with treasures they took by force from others.”
11 So this is what the Lord God says:
“An enemy will take over the land.
He will pull down your strong towers.
He will take the treasures you hid in your strong cities.”
12 This is what the Lord says:
“A shepherd might save from a lion’s mouth
only two leg bones or a scrap of an ear of his sheep.
In the same way only a few Israelites will be saved.
These people now sit on their beds in Samaria.
They sit on their couches.”
13 “You nations, listen to what I say against the family of Israel. You are my witnesses against them,” says the Lord God, the God of heaven’s armies.
14 “The people of Israel sinned, and I will punish them.
I will also destroy the altars at Bethel.
The corners of the altar will be cut off,
and they will fall to the ground.
15 I will tear down the winter house,
together with the summer house.
The houses decorated with ivory will be destroyed.
And the great houses will come to an end,” says the Lord.
6 Then I watched while the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. I heard one of the four living things speak with a voice like thunder. It said, “Come!” 2 I looked and there before me was a white horse. The rider on the horse held a bow, and he was given a crown. And he rode out, defeating the enemy. He rode out to win the victory.
3 The Lamb opened the second seal. Then I heard the second living thing say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out. This was a red horse. Its rider was given power to take away peace from the earth. He was given power to make people kill each other. And he was given a big sword.
5 The Lamb opened the third seal. Then I heard the third living thing say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse. Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard something that sounded like a voice. It came from where the four living things were. The voice said, “A quart of wheat for a day’s pay. And three quarts of barley for a day’s pay. And do not damage the olive oil and wine!”
7 The Lamb opened the fourth seal. Then I heard the voice of the fourth living thing say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse. Its rider was named death. Hades[a] was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth. They were given power to kill people by war, by starving them, by disease, and by the wild animals of the earth.
9 The Lamb opened the fifth seal. Then I saw some souls under the altar. They were the souls of those who had been killed because they were faithful to God’s message and to the truth they had received. 10 These souls shouted in a loud voice, “Holy and true Lord, how long until you judge the people of the earth and punish them for killing us?” 11 Then each one of these souls was given a white robe. They were told to wait a short time longer. There were still some of their brothers in the service of Christ who must be killed as they were. They were told to wait until all of this killing was finished.
12 Then I watched while the Lamb opened the sixth seal. There was a great earthquake. The sun became black like rough black cloth. The full moon became red like blood. 13 The stars in the sky fell to the earth like figs falling from a fig tree when the wind blows. 14 The sky disappeared. It was rolled up like a scroll. And every mountain and island was moved from its place.
15 Then all people hid in caves and behind the rocks on the mountains. There were the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the rich people and the powerful people. Everyone, slave and free, hid himself. 16 They called to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us. Hide us from the face of the One who sits on the throne. Hide us from the anger of the Lamb! 17 The great day for their anger has come. Who can stand against it?”
The Holy Bible, International Children’s Bible® Copyright© 1986, 1988, 1999, 2015 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission.