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Amos 7-9
Contemporary English Version
Amos 7-9
Contemporary English Version
A Vision of Locusts
7 The Lord God showed me that he is going to send locusts[a] to attack your crops. It will happen after the king has already been given his share of the grain and before the rest of the grain has been harvested.[b] 2 In my vision the locusts ate every crop in the land, and I said to the Lord, “Please forgive your nation. It's so weak. How can it survive?”
3 Then the Lord felt sorry and answered, “I won't let it be destroyed.”
A Vision of Fire
4 The Lord showed me that he is going to send a ball of fire to burn up everything on earth, including the ocean.[c] 5 Then I said, “Won't you please stop? How can our weak nation survive?”
6 Again the Lord felt sorry and answered, “I won't let it be destroyed.”
A Vision of a Measuring Line
7 The Lord showed me a vision of himself standing beside a wall and holding a string with a weight tied to the end of it. The string and weight had been used to measure the straightness of the wall. 8 Then he asked, “Amos, what do you see?”
“A measuring line,” I answered.
The Lord said, “I'm using this measuring line to show that my people Israel don't measure up, and I won't forgive them any more. 9 Their sacred places will be destroyed, and I will send war against the nation of King Jeroboam.”[d]
Amos and Amaziah
10 Amaziah the priest at Bethel sent this message to King Jeroboam of Israel, “Amos is plotting against you in the very heart of Israel. Our nation cannot put up with his message for very long. 11 Here is what he is saying:
‘Jeroboam will be put to death,
and the people will be taken
to a foreign country.’ ”
12 Then Amaziah told me, “Amos, take your visions and get out! Go back to Judah and earn your living there as a prophet. 13 Don't do any more preaching at Bethel. The king worships here at our national temple.”
14 I answered:
I'm not a prophet! And I wasn't trained to be a prophet. I am a shepherd, and I take care of fig trees. 15 But the Lord told me to leave my herds and preach to the people of Israel. 16 And here you are, telling me not to preach! 17 Now, listen to what the Lord says about you:
Your wife will become
a prostitute in the city,
your sons and daughters
will be killed in war,
and your land will be divided
among others.
You will die in a country
of foreigners,
and the people of Israel
will be dragged
from their homeland.
A Basket of Fruit
8 The Lord God showed me a basket of ripe fruit 2 and asked, “Amos, what do you see?”
“A basket of ripe fruit,” I replied.
Then he said,
“This is the end[e]
for my people Israel.
I won't forgive them again.
3 Instead of singing
in the temple,
they will cry and weep.
Dead bodies will be everywhere.
So keep silent!
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Israel Is Doomed
The Lord said:
4 You people crush those in need
and wipe out the poor.
5 You say to yourselves,
“How much longer before the end
of the New Moon Festival?
When will the Sabbath[f] be over?
Our wheat is ready,
and we want to sell it now.
We can't wait to cheat
and charge high prices
for the grain we sell.
We will use dishonest scales
6 and mix dust in the grain.
Those who are needy and poor
don't have any money.
We will make them our slaves
for the price
of a pair of sandals.”
7 I, the Lord, won't forget
any of this,
though you take great pride
in your ancestor Jacob.[g]
8 Your country will tremble,
and you will mourn.
It will be like the Nile River
that rises and overflows,
then sinks back down.
9 On that day, I, the Lord God,
will make the sun
go down at noon,
and I will turn daylight
into darkness.
10 Your festivals and joyful singing
will turn into sorrow.
You will wear sackcloth[h]
and shave your heads,
as you would at the death
of your only son.
It will be a horrible day.
11 I, the Lord, also promise you
a terrible shortage,
but not of food and water.
You will hunger and thirst
to hear my message.
12 You will search everywhere—
from north to south,
from east to west.
You will go all over the earth,
seeking a message
from me, the Lord.
But you won't find one.
13 Your beautiful young women
and your young men
will faint from thirst.
14 You made promises
to the goddess Ashimah
at Samaria;
you made vows to other gods
at the shrines
of Dan and Beersheba.[i]
So now you will fall
and never get up.
Judgment on Israel
9 I saw a vision of the Lord
standing by the temple altar,[j]
and he said,
“Shake the columns
until the tops fall loose,
and the doorposts crumble.
Then make the pieces fall
on the people below.
I will take a sword and kill
anyone who escapes.
2 “If they dig deep into the earth
or climb to the sky,
I'll reach out and get them.
3 If they escape to the peaks
of Mount Carmel,
I'll search and find them.
And if they hide from me
at the bottom of the ocean,
I'll command a sea monster
to bite them.
4 I'll send a sword to kill them,
wherever their enemies
drag them off as captives.
I'm determined to hurt them,
not to help them.”
His Name Is the Lord
5 When the Lord God All-Powerful
touches the earth, it melts,
and its people mourn.
God makes the earth rise
and then fall,
just like the Nile River.
6 He built his palace in the heavens
and let its foundations
rest on the earth.[k]
He scoops up the ocean
and empties it on the earth.
His name is the Lord.
The Lord Is God
7 Israel, I am the Lord God,
and the Ethiopians[l]
are no less important to me
than you are.
I brought you out of Egypt,
but I also brought
the Philistines from Crete[m]
and the Arameans from Kir.[n]
8 My eyes have seen
what a sinful nation you are,
and I'll wipe you out.
But I will leave a few
of Jacob's descendants.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
9 At my command, all of you
will be sifted like grain.
Israelites who remain faithful
will be scattered
among the nations.
And the others will be trapped
like trash in a sifter.
10 Some of you are evil,
and you deny
that you will ever get caught.
But you will be killed.
The Lord's Promise to Israel
11 (A) In the future, I will rebuild
David's fallen kingdom.
I will build it from its ruins
and set it up again,
just as it used to be.
12 Then you will capture Edom
and the other nations
that are mine.
I, the Lord, have spoken,
and my words will come true.
13 You will have such a harvest
that you won't be able
to bring in all of your wheat
before plowing time.
You will have grapes left over
from season to season;
your fruitful vineyards
will cover the mountains.
14 I'll make Israel prosper again.
You will rebuild your towns
and live in them.
You will drink wine
from your own vineyards
and eat the fruit you grow.
15 I'll plant your roots deep
in the land I have given you,
and you won't ever
be uprooted again.
I, the Lord God, have spoken!
Footnotes
- 7.1 locusts: See the note at 4.9.
- 7.1 harvested: This would have been an especially bad time for a locust attack. The non-grain crops such as vegetables and onions were just beginning to sprout, and the grain crops were almost ready to be harvested.
- 7.4 to burn up everything … ocean: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 7.9 Jeroboam: Jeroboam II, who ruled Israel 783–743 b.c.
- 8.2 end: In Hebrew “ripe fruit” and “end” sound alike.
- 8.5 New Moon Festival … Sabbath: Selling grain at these times was forbidden by the Law of Moses.
- 8.7 though … Jacob: Or “though I am the God that Jacob proudly worshiped.”
- 8.10 sackcloth: A rough, dark-colored cloth made from goat or camel hair and used to make grain sacks. It was worn in times of trouble or sorrow.
- 8.14 You made … Beersheba: Or “You made promises to the goddess Ashimah at Samaria, and you made vows in the names of other gods at the shrines of Dan and Beersheba.”
- 9.1 the temple altar: The one at Bethel.
- 9.6 He built … earth: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
- 9.7 Ethiopians: The Hebrew text has “people of Cush,” which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
- 9.7 Crete: Hebrew “Caphtor.”
- 9.7 Philistines … Arameans from Kir: The Philistines were Israel's enemies to the west, and the Arameans were enemies to the northeast. For Kir, see the note at 1.5.
Amos 7-9
New International Version
Amos 7-9
New International Version
Locusts, Fire and a Plumb Line
7 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(A) He was preparing swarms of locusts(B) after the king’s share had been harvested and just as the late crops were coming up. 2 When they had stripped the land clean,(C) I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, forgive! How can Jacob survive?(D) He is so small!(E)”
3 So the Lord relented.(F)
“This will not happen,” the Lord said.(G)
4 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me: The Sovereign Lord was calling for judgment by fire;(H) it dried up the great deep and devoured(I) the land. 5 Then I cried out, “Sovereign Lord, I beg you, stop! How can Jacob survive? He is so small!(J)”
6 So the Lord relented.(K)
“This will not happen either,” the Sovereign Lord said.(L)
7 This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb,[a] with a plumb line[b] in his hand. 8 And the Lord asked me, “What do you see,(M) Amos?(N)”
“A plumb line,(O)” I replied.
Then the Lord said, “Look, I am setting a plumb line among my people Israel; I will spare them no longer.(P)
9 “The high places(Q) of Isaac will be destroyed
and the sanctuaries(R) of Israel will be ruined;
with my sword I will rise against the house of Jeroboam.(S)”
Amos and Amaziah
10 Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel(T) sent a message to Jeroboam(U) king of Israel: “Amos is raising a conspiracy(V) against you in the very heart of Israel. The land cannot bear all his words.(W) 11 For this is what Amos is saying:
“‘Jeroboam will die by the sword,
and Israel will surely go into exile,(X)
away from their native land.’”(Y)
12 Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Get out, you seer!(Z) Go back to the land of Judah. Earn your bread there and do your prophesying there.(AA) 13 Don’t prophesy anymore at Bethel,(AB) because this is the king’s sanctuary and the temple(AC) of the kingdom.(AD)”
14 Amos answered Amaziah, “I was neither a prophet(AE) nor the son of a prophet, but I was a shepherd, and I also took care of sycamore-fig trees.(AF) 15 But the Lord took me from tending the flock(AG) and said to me, ‘Go,(AH) prophesy(AI) to my people Israel.’(AJ) 16 Now then, hear(AK) the word of the Lord. You say,
“‘Do not prophesy against(AL) Israel,
and stop preaching against the descendants of Isaac.’
17 “Therefore this is what the Lord says:
“‘Your wife will become a prostitute(AM) 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[c] country.
And Israel will surely go into exile,(AN)
away from their native land.(AO)’”
A Basket of Ripe Fruit
8 This is what the Sovereign Lord showed me:(AP) a basket of ripe fruit. 2 “What do you see,(AQ) Amos?(AR)” he asked.
“A basket(AS) 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.(AT)
3 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “the songs in the temple will turn to wailing.[d](AU) Many, many bodies—flung everywhere! Silence!(AV)”
5 saying,
“When will the New Moon(AY) be over
that we may sell grain,
and the Sabbath be ended
that we may market(AZ) wheat?”(BA)—
skimping on the measure,
boosting the price
and cheating(BB) with dishonest scales,(BC)
6 buying the poor(BD) with silver
and the needy for a pair of sandals,
selling even the sweepings with the wheat.(BE)
7 The Lord has sworn by himself, the Pride of Jacob:(BF) “I will never forget(BG) anything they have done.(BH)
8 “Will not the land tremble(BI) 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.(BJ)
9 “In that day,” declares the Sovereign Lord,
“I will make the sun go down at noon
and darken the earth in broad daylight.(BK)
10 I will turn your religious festivals(BL) into mourning
and all your singing into weeping.(BM)
I will make all of you wear sackcloth(BN)
and shave(BO) your heads.
I will make that time like mourning for an only son(BP)
and the end of it like a bitter day.(BQ)
11 “The days are coming,”(BR) 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(BS) of hearing the words of the Lord.(BT)
12 People 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.(BU)
13 “In that day
“the lovely young women and strong young men(BV)
will faint because of thirst.(BW)
14 Those who swear by the sin of Samaria(BX)—
who say, ‘As surely as your god lives, Dan,’(BY)
or, ‘As surely as the god[e] of Beersheba(BZ) lives’—
they will fall,(CA) never to rise again.(CB)”
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(CC) of all the people;
those who are left I will kill with the sword.
Not one will get away,
none will escape.(CD)
2 Though they dig down to the depths below,(CE)
from there my hand will take them.
Though they climb up to the heavens above,(CF)
from there I will bring them down.(CG)
3 Though they hide themselves on the top of Carmel,(CH)
there I will hunt them down and seize them.(CI)
Though they hide from my eyes at the bottom of the sea,(CJ)
there I will command the serpent(CK) to bite them.(CL)
4 Though they are driven into exile by their enemies,
there I will command the sword(CM) to slay them.
5 The Lord, the Lord Almighty—
he touches the earth and it melts,(CQ)
and all who live in it mourn;
the whole land rises like the Nile,
then sinks like the river of Egypt;(CR)
6 he builds his lofty palace[f](CS) in the heavens
and sets its foundation[g] 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.(CT)
7 “Are not you Israelites
the same to me as the Cushites[h]?”(CU)
declares the Lord.
“Did I not bring Israel up from Egypt,
the Philistines(CV) from Caphtor[i](CW)
and the Arameans from Kir?(CX)
8 “Surely the eyes of the Sovereign Lord
are on the sinful kingdom.
I will destroy(CY) it
from the face of the earth.
Yet I will not totally destroy
the descendants of Jacob,”
declares the Lord.(CZ)
9 “For I will give the command,
and I will shake the people of Israel
among all the nations
as grain(DA) is shaken in a sieve,(DB)
and not a pebble will reach the ground.(DC)
10 All the sinners among my people
will die by the sword,(DD)
all those who say,
‘Disaster will not overtake or meet us.’(DE)
Israel’s Restoration
11 “In that day
“I will restore David’s(DF) fallen shelter(DG)—
I will repair its broken walls
and restore its ruins(DH)—
and will rebuild it as it used to be,(DI)
12 so that they may possess the remnant of Edom(DJ)
and all the nations that bear my name,[j](DK)”
declares the Lord, who will do these things.(DL)
13 “The days are coming,”(DM) declares the Lord,
“when the reaper(DN) will be overtaken by the plowman(DO)
and the planter by the one treading(DP) grapes.
New wine(DQ) will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills,(DR)
14 and I will bring(DS) my people Israel back from exile.[k](DT)
“They will rebuild the ruined cities(DU) and live in them.
They will plant vineyards(DV) and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.(DW)
15 I will plant(DX) Israel in their own land,(DY)
never again to be uprooted(DZ)
from the land I have given them,”(EA)
says the Lord your God.(EB)
Footnotes
- 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
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