Amos 5-9

New International Version

A Lament and Call to Repentance

5 Hear this word, Israel, this lament^(A) I take up concerning you:

²“Fallen is Virgin^(B) Israel,
never to rise again,
deserted in her own land,
with no one to lift her up.^(C)”

³This 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.^(D)”

⁴This is what the Lord says to Israel:

“Seek^(E) me and live;^(F)
⁵    do not seek Bethel,
do not go to Gilgal,^(G)
    do not journey to Beersheba.^(H)
For Gilgal will surely go into exile,
    and Bethel will be reduced to nothing.^[a]^(I)”
⁶Seek^(J) the Lord and live,^(K)
    or he will sweep through the tribes of Joseph like a fire;^(L)
it will devour them,
    and Bethel^(M) will have no one to quench it.^(N)

⁷There are those who turn justice into bitterness^(O)
and cast righteousness^(P) to the ground.^(Q)

⁸He who made the Pleiades and Orion,^(R)
    who turns midnight into dawn^(S)
    and darkens day into night,^(T)
who calls for the waters of the sea
    and pours them out over the face of the land—
    the Lord is his name.^(U)
⁹With a blinding flash he destroys the stronghold
    and brings the fortified city to ruin.^(V)

¹⁰There are those who hate the one who upholds justice in court^(W)
and detest the one who tells the truth.^(X)

¹¹You levy a straw tax on the poor^(Y)
    and impose a tax on their grain.
Therefore, though you have built stone mansions,^(Z)
    you will not live in them;^(AA)
though you have planted lush vineyards,
    you will not drink their wine.^(AB)
¹²For I know how many are your offenses
    and how great your sins.^(AC)

There are those who oppress the innocent and take bribes^(AD)
and deprive the poor^(AE) of justice in the courts.^(AF)
¹³Therefore the prudent keep quiet^(AG) in such times,
for the times are evil.^(AH)

¹⁴Seek good, not evil,
    that you may live.^(AI)
Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you,
    just as you say he is.
¹⁵Hate evil,^(AJ) love good;^(AK)
    maintain justice in the courts.^(AL)
Perhaps^(AM) the Lord God Almighty will have mercy^(AN)
    on the remnant^(AO) of Joseph.

¹⁶Therefore this is what the Lord, the Lord God Almighty, says:

“There will be wailing^(AP) in all the streets^(AQ)
    and cries of anguish in every public square.
The farmers^(AR) will be summoned to weep
    and the mourners to wail.
¹⁷There will be wailing^(AS) in all the vineyards,
    for I will pass through^(AT) your midst,”
says the Lord.^(AU)

The Day of the Lord

¹⁸Woe to you who long
    for the day of the Lord!^(AV)
Why do you long for the day of the Lord?^(AW)
    That day will be darkness,^(AX) not light.^(AY)
¹⁹It will be as though a man fled from a lion
    only to meet a bear,^(AZ)
as though he entered his house
    and rested his hand on the wall
    only to have a snake bite him.^(BA)
²⁰Will not the day of the Lord be darkness,^(BB) not light—
    pitch-dark, without a ray of brightness?^(BC)

²¹“I hate,^(BD) I despise your religious festivals;^(BE)
    your assemblies^(BF) are a stench to me.
²²Even though you bring me burnt offerings^(BG) and grain offerings,
    I will not accept them.^(BH)
Though you bring choice fellowship offerings,
    I will have no regard for them.^(BI)
²³Away with the noise of your songs!
    I will not listen to the music of your harps.^(BJ)
²⁴But let justice^(BK) roll on like a river,
    righteousness^(BL) like a never-failing stream!^(BM)

²⁵“Did you bring me sacrifices^(BN) and offerings
    forty years^(BO) in the wilderness, people of Israel?
²⁶You have lifted up the shrine of your king,
    the pedestal of your idols,^(BP)
    the star of your god^[b]—
    which you made for yourselves.
²⁷Therefore I will send you into exile^(BQ) beyond Damascus,”
    says the Lord, whose name is God Almighty.^(BR)

Woe to the Complacent

6 Woe to you^(BS) who are complacent^(BT) in Zion,
    and to you who feel secure^(BU) on Mount Samaria,^(BV)
you notable men of the foremost nation,
    to whom the people of Israel come!^(BW)
²Go to Kalneh^(BX) and look at it;
    go from there to great Hamath,^(BY)
    and then go down to Gath^(BZ) in Philistia.
Are they better off than^(CA) your two kingdoms?
    Is their land larger than yours?
³You put off the day of disaster
    and bring near a reign of terror.^(CB)
⁴You lie on beds adorned with ivory
    and lounge on your couches.^(CC)
You dine on choice lambs
    and fattened calves.^(CD)
⁵You strum away on your harps^(CE) like David
    and improvise on musical instruments.^(CF)
⁶You drink wine^(CG) by the bowlful
    and use the finest lotions,
    but you do not grieve^(CH) over the ruin of Joseph.^(CI)
⁷Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;^(CJ)
    your feasting and lounging will end.^(CK)

The Lord Abhors the Pride of Israel

⁸The Sovereign Lord has sworn by himself^(CL)—the Lord God Almighty declares:

“I abhor^(CM) the pride of Jacob^(CN)
and detest his fortresses;^(CO)
I will deliver up^(CP) the city
and everything in it.^(CQ)”

⁹If ten^(CR) people are left in one house, they too will die. ¹⁰And if the relative who comes to carry the bodies out of the house to burn them^[c]^(CS) asks anyone who might be hiding there, “Is anyone else with you?” and he says, “No,” then he will go on to say, “Hush!^(CT) We must not mention the name of the Lord.”

¹¹For the Lord has given the command,
and he will smash^(CU) the great house^(CV) into pieces
and the small house into bits.^(CW)

¹²Do horses run on the rocky crags?
    Does one plow the sea^[d] with oxen?
But you have turned justice into poison^(CX)
    and the fruit of righteousness^(CY) into bitterness^(CZ)—
¹³you who rejoice in the conquest of Lo Debar^[e]
    and say, “Did we not take Karnaim^[f] by our own strength?^(DA)”

¹⁴For the Lord God Almighty declares,
“I will stir up a nation^(DB) against you, Israel,
that will oppress you all the way
from Lebo Hamath^(DC) to the valley of the Arabah.^(DD)”

Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line

7 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:^(DE) He was preparing swarms of locusts^(DF) after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. ²When they had stripped the land clean,^(DG) I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive?^(DH) He is so small!^(DI)”

³So the Lord relented.^(DJ)

“This will not happen,” the Lord said.^(DK)

⁴This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire;^(DL) it dried up the great deep and devoured^(DM) the land. ⁵Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!^(DN)”

⁶So the Lord relented.^(DO)

“This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said.^(DP)

⁷This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,^[g] with a plumb line^[h] in his hand. ⁸And the Lord asked me, “What do you see,^(DQ) Amos?^(DR)”

“A plumb line,^(DS)” I replied.

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

⁹“The high places^(DU) of Isaac will be destroyed
and the sanctuaries^(DV) of Israel will be ruined;
with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.^(DW)”

Amos and Amaziah

¹⁰Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel^(DX) sent a message to Jeroboam^(DY) king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy^(DZ) against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.^(EA) ¹¹For this is what Amos is saying:

“‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely go into exile,^(EB)
away from their native land.’”^(EC)

¹²Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer!^(ED) Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.^(EE) ¹³Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel,^(EF) because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple^(EG) of the kingdom.^(EH)”

¹⁴Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet^(EI) nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.^(EJ) ¹⁵But the Lord took me from tending the flock^(EK) and said to me, ‘Go,^(EL) prophesy^(EM) to my people Israel.’^(EN) ¹⁶Now then, hear^(EO) the word of the Lord. You say,

“‘Do not prophesy against^(EP) Israel,
and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’

¹⁷“Therefore this is what the Lord says:

“‘Your wife will become a prostitute^(EQ) 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^[i] country.
And Israel will surely go into exile,^(ER)
    away from their native land.^(ES)’”

A Basket of Ripe Fruit

8 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:^(ET) a basket of ripe fruit. ²“What do you see,^(EU) Amos?^(EV)” he asked.

“A basket^(EW) of ripe fruit,” I answered.

Then the Lord said to me, “The time is ripe for my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.^(EX)

³“In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing.^[j]^(EY) Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!^(EZ)”

⁴Hear this, you who trample the needy
and do away with the poor^(FA) of the land,^(FB)

⁵saying,

“When will the New Moon^(FC) be over
    that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
    that we may market^(FD) wheat?”^(FE)—
skimping on the measure,
    boosting the price
    and cheating^(FF) with dishonest scales,^(FG)
⁶buying the poor^(FH) with silver
    and the needy for a pair of sandals,
    selling even the sweepings with the wheat.^(FI)

⁷The Lord has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob:^(FJ) “I will never forget^(FK) anything they have done.^(FL)

⁸“Will not the land tremble^(FM) for this,
    and all who live in it mourn?
The whole land will rise like the Nile;
    it will be stirred up and then sink
    like the river of Egypt.^(FN)

⁹“In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord,

“I will make the sun go down at noon
    and darken the earth in broad daylight.^(FO)
¹⁰I will turn your religious festivals^(FP) into mourning
    and all your singing into weeping.^(FQ)
I will make all of you wear sackcloth^(FR)
    and shave^(FS) your heads.
I will make that time like mourning for an only son^(FT)
    and the end of it like a bitter day.^(FU)

¹¹“The days are coming,”^(FV) declares the Sovereign Lord,
    “when I will send a famine through the land—
not a famine of food or a thirst for water,
    but a famine^(FW) of hearing the words of the Lord.^(FX)
¹²People will stagger from sea to sea
    and wander from north to east,
searching for the word of the Lord,
    but they will not find it.^(FY)

¹³“In that day

“the lovely young women and strong young men^(FZ)
    will faint because of thirst.^(GA)
¹⁴Those who swear by the sin of Samaria^(GB)—
    who say, ‘As surely as your god lives, Dan,’^(GC)
    or, ‘As surely as the god^[k] of Beersheba^(GD) lives’—
    they will fall,^(GE) never to rise again.^(GF)”

Israel to Be Destroyed

9 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^(GG) of all the people;
    those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
    none will escape.^(GH)
²Though they dig down to the depths below,^(GI)
    from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,^(GJ)
    from there I will bring them down.^(GK)
³Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,^(GL)
    there I will hunt them down and seize them.^(GM)
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,^(GN)
    there I will command the serpent^(GO) to bite them.^(GP)
⁴Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
    there I will command the sword^(GQ) to slay them.

“I will keep my eye on them
for harm^(GR) and not for good.^(GS)”^(GT)

⁵The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,^(GU)
    and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
    then sinks like the river of Egypt;^(GV)
⁶he builds his lofty palace^[l]^(GW) in the heavens
    and sets its foundation^[m] 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.^(GX)

⁷“Are not you Israelites
    the same to me as the Cushites^[n]?”^(GY)
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
    the Philistines^(GZ) from Caphtor^[o]^(HA)
    and the Arameans from Kir?^(HB)

⁸“Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
    are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy^(HC) it
    from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
    the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.^(HD)
⁹“For I will give the command,
    and I will shake the people of Israel
    among all the nations
as grain^(HE) is shaken in a sieve,^(HF)
    and not a pebble will reach the ground.^(HG)
¹⁰All the sinners among my people
    will die by the sword,^(HH)
all those who say,
    ‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’^(HI)

Israel’s Restoration

¹¹“In that day

“I will restore David’s^(HJ) fallen shelter^(HK)—
    I will repair its broken walls
    and restore its ruins^(HL)—
    and will rebuild it as it used to be,^(HM)
¹²so that they may possess the remnant of Edom^(HN)
    and all the nations that bear my name,^[p]^(HO)”
declares the Lord, who will do these things.^(HP)

¹³“The days are coming,”^(HQ) declares the Lord,

“when the reaper^(HR) will be overtaken by the plowman^(HS)
    and the planter by the one treading^(HT) grapes.
New wine^(HU) will drip from the mountains
    and flow from all the hills,^(HV)
¹⁴    and I will bring^(HW) my people Israel back from exile.^[q]^(HX)

“They will rebuild the ruined cities^(HY) and live in them.
    They will plant vineyards^(HZ) and drink their wine;
    they will make gardens and eat their fruit.^(IA)
¹⁵I will plant^(IB) Israel in their own land,^(IC)
    never again to be uprooted^(ID)
    from the land I have given them,”^(IE)

says the Lord your God.^(IF)

Footnotes

Amos 5:5 Hebrew aven, a reference to Beth Aven (a derogatory name for Bethel); see Hosea 4:15.
Amos 5:26 Or lifted up Sakkuth your king / and Kaiwan your idols, / your star-gods; Septuagint lifted up the shrine of Molek / and the star of your god Rephan, / their idols
Amos 6:10 Or to make a funeral fire in honor of the dead
Amos 6:12 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text plow there
Amos 6:13 Lo Debar means nothing.
Amos 6:13 Karnaim means horns; horn here symbolizes strength.
Amos 7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
Amos 7:7 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain; also in verse 8.
Amos 7:17 Hebrew an unclean
Amos 8:3 Or “the temple singers will wail
Amos 8:14 Hebrew the way
Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this phrase is uncertain.
Amos 9:6 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
Amos 9:7 That is, people from the upper Nile region
Amos 9:7 That is, Crete
Amos 9:12 Hebrew; Septuagint so that the remnant of people / and all the nations that bear my name may seek me
Amos 9:14 Or will restore the fortunes of my people Israel